An alternative mechanism by which miR-92a-3p triggers EMT is through PTEN targeting and subsequent activation of the Pi3K/Akt signaling pathway, which has been shown to promote migration and invasiveness in colorectal cancer, glioma, and ESCC cell lines (Zhang et al., 2014; Ke et al., 2015; Li et al., 2019). Here, PTEN is linked to colorectal cancer.