AKT1 and cancer: Accumulating studies have revealed that PI3K/AKT/mTOR acted as key drivers of cellular growth, adhesion, migration, and survival in human carcinogenesis, including CRC, in which the activation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling supports cancer cell growth, metastasis, and drug resistance (Meng and Zheng, 2015; Bahrami et al., 2018).