BIK and cancer: The mitochondrial apoptosis pathway is commonly deregulated in cancer cells and plays a key role in cancer development.29, 30 Mitochondrial apoptosis is also a key factor that determines the effect of various chemotherapeutic agents and the drug sensitivity of cancer cells.24, 31 Because of the fact that BIK is an inducer of mitochondrial apoptosis, activating BIK has been used as an anticancer strategy.