BCL2 and cancer: NF-κB plays a major role in linking inflammation to cancer development through its ability to upregulate several inflammatory and tumor promoting cytokines, such as IL-6, IL-1α, and Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNFα), as well as genes like BCL2 and BCLXL. Furthermore, NF-κB plays an important role in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), as obesity activates the transcription factor NF-κB, which increases the risk for T2DM.