BECN1 and neoplasm: In addition, an association of autophagy status with the amount of F. nucleatum in CRC has been proposed; in fact, the tumor expression of BECN1 (Beclin 1), a key positive regulator of autophagy, is inversely associated with the amount of F. nucleatum in CRC tissue, suggesting a possible role for autophagy in the elimination of invasive microorganisms [20].