AKT1 and nasopharyngeal carcinoma: Abnormal activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway and its downstream targets have been observed in a wide range of human malignancies, including NPC.23, 24, 25 SGK3 is a serine/threonine kinase that functions downstream of PI3K, shares both sequence and functional similarity with the AKT family, and plays a critical role in AKT-independent oncogenic signaling.26