A novel 4-aminoquinazoline derivative, DHW-208, suppresses the growth of human breast cancer cells by targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway (Publication with Expression of Concern. See vol. 16, 2025)

Breast cancer is one of the most frequent cancers among women worldwide. However, there is still no effective therapeutic strategy for advanced breast cancer that has metastasized. Aberrant activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is an essential step for the growth of human breast cancers. In our previous study, we designed and synthesized DHW-208 (2,4-difluoro-N-(5-(4-((1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)amino)quinazolin-6-yl)-2-methoxypyridin-3-yl)benzenesulfonamide) as a novel pan-PI3K inhibitor. This study aimed to assess the therapeutic efficacy of DHW-208 in breast cancer and investigate its underlying mechanism. We found that DHW-208 inhibited the growth, proliferation, migration, and invasion of breast cancer cells. Moreover, DHW-208 induced breast cancer cell apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway and induced G0/G1 cell-cycle arrest. In vitro results show that DHW-208 is a dual inhibitor of PI3K and mTOR, and suppress the growth of human breast cancer cells by targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Consistent with the in vitro results, in vivo studies demonstrated that DHW-208 elicits an antitumor effect by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR-signaling pathway with a high degree of safety in breast cancer. Above all, we report for the first time that DHW-208 suppressed the growth of human breast cancer cells by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR-signaling pathway both in vivo and in vitro. Our study may provide evidence for the use of DHW-208 as an effective, novel therapeutic candidate for the treatment of human breast cancers in clinical trials.