AKT1 and cancer: Furthermore, the uPA/uPAR/PAI-1 axis has been shown to play a critical role in mediating angiogenesis and metastasis in different types of cancer via the modulation of several well-known cancer-related signaling pathways such as the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT pathways [20,21,22,23].