Another study has revealed that tumor-associated macrophage-derived CCL5 promotes ccRCC progression and fosters an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment through modulation of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway (Xu et al., 2022), underscoring the crucial involvement of cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions in tumorigenic processes. The gene discussed is AKT1; the disease is nonpapillary renal cell carcinoma.