AXL and neoplasm: Since its discovery, AXL has been shown to be involved in a wide range of signaling pathways such as PI3/AKT, MAPK, and SNAIL/EMT, promoting tumor cell survival and proliferation, as well as tumor migration and invasiveness (Byers et al., 2013; Han et al., 2013; Sainaghi et al., 2005; Zhang et al., 2013).