Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) of the PDAC desmoplastic stroma produce growth factors such as TGF-β, HGF, FGF, PDGF, and IGF-1 [233,234,235,236], which bind to their receptors, which, in turn, initiate signaling pathways that can activate PI3K/AKT. Here, AKT1 is linked to cancer.