HK2 and breast cancer: Altogether, our results provide strong evidence that upregulation of miR-216b enhances autophagy and apoptosis, as well as suppresses invasion and migration of BC cells via blocking the mTOR signaling pathway by targeting HK2. Additionally, in vivo experimentation in our study demonstrated that transplanted neoplasms were inhibited by miR-216b, which highlights its anti-tumor role (Fig. 11).