AKT1 and familial pancreatic carcinoma: Recent reports have demonstrated that the AKT pathway is a potent survival signal in these pancreatic cancer cell lines, as inhibition of PI3K, the upstream activator of AKT, has been shown to sensitise these cells to the apoptotic effect of chemotherapy in vitro (Ng et al, 2000; Perugini et al, 2000; Yao et al, 2002).