With regard to its mechanism of action, it has been proposed that GDF15 is regulated by PTEN/PI3K/Akt signaling pathway in lung cancer cells17, while it can promote metastasis of liver and colorectal tumors through Akt/Gsk-3β/β-catenin or Smad2/3 signaling pathways, respectively18,19. Here, AKT1 is linked to lung cancer.