found that circNRIP1, a sponge for miR-595, inhibited the oncogenic effects of esophageal cancer cell growth, migration and invasion through competitive binding of circNRIP1 and miR-595 to target the semaphorin 4D (SEMA4D) and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways in esophageal cancer cells (Zhou et al., 2021). This evidence concerns the gene AKT1 and esophageal cancer.