AKT1 and gastric cancer: Furthermore, circRNAs have interacting potentials with miRNAs, a process referred to as miRNA sponging, modulating gene expressions (Zang et al., 2020), and influencing therapeutic strategies that may connect to gene therapy research to target specific pathways (TGF-β, β-catenin, MAPK, PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling pathways) involved in various diseases including GC.