In addition, AT-101 was shown to prevent the interaction between Bcl-2 and Beclin-1 at the endoplasmic reticulum, to decrease the levels of Bcl-2 and to increase Beclin-1 expression by inducing Beclin-1 Atg5-dependent autophagic pathway in cancer cells (Lian et al., 2011). This evidence concerns the gene BECN1 and cancer.