AKT1 and cancer: Activated AKT stimulates the mTOR transcription cofactor and the STAT3 and HIF-1α transcription factors, which regulates the expression of oncogenes, inhibits apoptosis and inhibits autophagy in hepatoma cells as well as promotes the growth of cancer cells (Missiaglia et al., 2010; Li et al., 2011; Lee et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2018).