This was based on: (a) the major role of the Akt pathway in hematologic malignancies [17], (b) its recent implication in the development of gastric NHL related to Helicobacter pylori infection [42], which is also considered to arise due to chronic aberrant antigenic stimulation, as pSS-associated NHLs, and (c) a previous study describing PI3Kδ signaling in infiltrating lymphocytes at the MSG lesions of pSS patients [22]. This evidence concerns the gene AKT1 and hematologic disorder.