AKT1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Similarly, silibinin combined with sorafenib increased apoptosis in HCC Bel-7402 cells via the activation of Akt, ERK, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), and mitogen-activated protein kinase p38, leading to the activation of cleaved-caspase3 and cleaved-poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase [10].