AKT1 and cancer: Through its binding to cell surface receptors, EGF can induce the activation of three signaling pathways which are important to the initiation and progression of cancers, Ras/MAPK, PI3K/Akt and JAK/STATs.79 In the previous study, we confirmed biochemically and morphologically that autophagy can be activated by gefitinib or erlotinib, which was accompanied by the inhibition of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway.