AKT1 and esophageal cancer: In this sense, the upregulation of the RTK MET in esophageal cancer, due to the action of circ-LPAR3, which sponges miR-198 and, thus, upregulates its direct target MET, results in increased phosphorylation of its downstream targets, namely AKT1 and MAP2K7, facilitating invasion and migration of esophageal cancer cells [158].