BCL2 and cancer: Interestingly, when we searched for direct interactions among the deleted genes and other cancer-associated genes, 30 genes deleted in cases with del(17p), and another 6 genes deleted in cases with del(22q), emerged as directly related to signaling pathways involved in cell growth and proliferation (e.g., EGFR and CDK1A) as well as in cell death (e.g., BAX and BCL2).