Levels of miR-18a were found to be elevated in the serum of CRC patients and, thus, are a potential biomarker [69], while the application of isolated miR-18a inhibits CRC cell growth through the indirect regulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway [149] and has the potential to be sponged by the tumor-suppressing lncRNA CASC2 [150]. Here, AKT1 is linked to colorectal carcinoma.