At present, lung cancer is mainly treated by surgery, chemotherapy and targeted therapy, among which targeted therapy is expected to be the most effective method. With the increasing understanding of molecular changes and genomic biomarkers that promote the development of lung cancer, it has been found that the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) pathway is an important part of the development of lung cancer. This pathway is an important signaling pathway that is widely present in cells. Activation can lead to a variety of characteristics of cancer, including acquired growth signal autonomy, apoptosis inhibition, continuous angiogenesis, increased tissue invasion and metastasis, and insensitivity to anti-growth signals, thereby regulating the process of cancer. Natural terpenoids can exert anti-lung cancer activity by inhibiting PI3K/Akt pathway. However, the research on such compounds mostly stays at the level of in vitro and in vivo research, and there is a lack of systematic review and summary of these data. Based on these current situations, this review summarizes the current understanding of natural terpenoids in regulating lung cancer progression through the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, aiming to explore new targeted drugs and provide relevant theoretical basis for clinical treatment of lung cancer.

terpenoids  /  lung cancer  /  PI3K/Akt signaling pathways  /  natural drugs  /  apoptosis