The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, involving extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2), and the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) pathway, involving protein kinase B (AKT), play a critical role in the effects of NK cells on cancer cell survival and proliferation (Jiang et al., 2000). This evidence concerns the gene AKT1 and cancer.