A study using GBM cell lines and nude mice with xenografted GBM has confirmed that silibinin could induce mitophagy in GBM, and that autophagy can promote silibinin-induced BNIP3 overexpression and its accumulation in the mitochondria, thereby triggering AIF-dependent death in GBM cells (Wang et al., 2020b). The gene discussed is AIFM1; the disease is glioblastoma.