AKT1 and neoplasm: By generating phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)- triphosphate, PI3K can trigger the activation of the serine-threonine kinase AKT, thus stimulating the downstream transcription factor nuclear factor- κB (NF-κB) and mTOR pathways, which play key roles in tumor cell survival and proliferation (Barbero et al., 2003; Ward, 2006).