Of particular relevance for the present study, O’Donovan and colleagues demonstrated that esophageal cancer cell lines able to induce autophagic gene expression upon cisplatin and 5-FU treatment displayed higher chemoresistance; moreover, specific inhibition of autophagy with siRNAs targeting BECN1 and ATG7 transcripts significantly enhanced 5-FU sensitivity [24]. The gene discussed is BECN1; the disease is esophageal cancer.