AKT1 and colorectal carcinoma: CRC is a highly heterogeneous disease, which is attributed to the complex interactions between genetic predisposition and environmental factors, and abnormalities in several crucial signal transduction pathways, such as Notch, TGFβ-Smads, Hedgehog, JAK-STAT, Ras-MAPK, PI3K-Akt, Wnt, p53, and DNA mismatch repair signaling pathways, play important roles in the initiation and the progression of CRC (3).