AKT1 and familial pancreatic carcinoma: Recent reports have suggested that AKT, a target of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), is phosphorylated and thus activated under basal conditions in a variety of pancreatic cancer cell lines, possibly contributing to the inherent apoptotic-resistance (Xue et al, 2000; Bondar et al, 2002; Samatar et al, 2002).