We report a stimulation of autophagic flux in breast cancer cells upon HNK treatment and suppressing autophagy with inhibition of autophagosome formation using 3-methyladenine, blockade of autophagosome-lysosome fusion with bafilomycin A1 (Baf), or CRISPR/Cas9-mediated knockout of beclin 1 (BECN1) and autophagy related 7 (ATG7) effectively potentiates HNK induced growth inhibition and apoptotic induction. This evidence concerns the gene BECN1 and breast carcinoma.