AKT1 and cancer: A variety of characteristics of CMV infection might contribute to cellular transformation to cancer: induction of expression of pro-angiogenic factors, interaction with oncogenic signaling pathways, such as the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway, which is often dysregulated in cancers, and epigenetic changes like DNA methylation and histone changes, which can contribute to tumorigenesis (Chan et al., 2010).