BNIP3 loss in pancreatic cancer has been associated with decreased apoptosis in tumor cells, metastatic phenotypes and poor prognosis, rendering BNIP3 a possible anti-tumor gene for this kind of malignancy (Okami et al., 2004; Chourasia et al., 2016; Li Y. et al., 2017). This evidence concerns the gene BNIP3 and neoplasm.