BECN1 and hepatocellular carcinoma: A significant positive correlation emerged between Beclin 1 and Bcl-xL mRNA expression in CH (r = 0.69; P < 0.0001), CIRR (r = 0.84; P = 0.0008), and HCC (r = 0.67; P = 0.002), and when all tissues were considered together (r = 0.64; P < 0.0001) (Figure 4A).