AKT1 and neoplasm: Based on our findings and previous evidence, it appears plausible that the elevated levels of Hsp90 in the cells of our rectal tumor samples may have promoted the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and thereby increased the pAkt levels in the tumor tissue samples, which ultimately resulted in our finding that increased levels of both pAkt and Hsp90 were associated with tumor progression and subsequently significantly poorer 10-year survival.