AKT1 and melanoma: Here we report the frequencies of recurrent mutations in NZ melanomas, including mutations in BRAF, NRAS, and EPHB6. Recurrent mutations in BRAF and NRAS in melanoma constitutively activate the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signal transduction pathway, and NRAS mutations can also strongly activate the PI3/AKT pathway [20], leading to the activation of multiple downstream signaling pathways to promote cell proliferation, growth and survival.