BAX and cancer: NSAIDs such as aspirin and indomethacin have long been shown to induce cancer cell apoptosis by upregulating the expression of proapoptotic Bcl-2 proteins, such as Bax and Bak, and by downregulating expression of anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins such as Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL [29, 44].