BECN1 and cancer: Autophagy has been shown to play a context-dependent prosurvival or prodeath role by regulating or being regulated by different signaling pathways involving p53, Bif-1 (Bax-interacting factor-1), Beclin1 (BECN1), UV-RAG (ultraviolet irradiation resistance–associated gene), mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin), protein kinase B (Akt), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Ras, and class I PI3K in cancer (7, 8).