BECN1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: For instance, a reduction in autophagy is observed in various cancer cells [16-18], and internal or external activators of autophagy, such as Beclin-1 (BECN1), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and rapamycin, have been shown to effectively reduce tumor mass in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells and xenografted breast cancer cell lines [19-21].