These findings indicate that the molecular alterations that activate Akt signalling are able to increase TIC compartment in NSCLC and are consistent with previous studies that have revealed preferential activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway in cells inside spheres and a role for PI3K signalling in survival and proliferation of cancer stem-like cells [11, 12]. Here, AKT1 is linked to non-small cell lung carcinoma.