BECN1 and cancer: For example, BECN1, which is a protein involved in the initiation of autophagy and previously described as a tumor suppressor gene frequently deleted or downregulated in cancer [42, 72, 73], can inhibit tumorigenesis through the inhibition of MCL-1 stabilization or WNT1 (wingless-type MMTV integration site family, member 1) activation, two mechanisms independent of autophagy [74, 75].