BECN1 and breast cancer: Interaction of BCL-2 protein with Beclin1 BH3 domain prevents assembling of the pre-autophagosome structure leading to autophagy inhibition, indicating that downregulation of BCL-2 by VCX is the first step toward activation of autophagy-associated cell death pathway.44 The dual induction of apoptosis and autophagic-associated cell death makes VCX an ideal chemotherapeutic target for breast cancer.