EEF1A2 and cancer: In addition, eEF1A2 is upregulated in 43% of HCC, and overexpression of eEF1A2 in gemcitabine-treated cancer cells resulted in enhancement of phosphorylated Akt and cell viability, thus suggesting that eEF1A2 possesses ability to activate the Akt pathway, which has been shown to be activated in approximately 50% of primary hepatocellular carcinoma cases [21].