SQSTM1 and neoplasm: Therefore, we further examined the expression levels of autophagy proteins in colon tissues of mice and determined that the protein expression level of Beclin was significantly higher in the colon tissue of the model group than in the control group, whereas p62 decreased (Fig. 4A), consistent with previous reports that the protein expression level of the autophagy marker Beclin was increased in tumor tissues than in paired adjacent normal tissues of patients with CRC, and autophagy inhibitor p62 was decreased in colon tissues of AOM/DSS-induced CRC mice 52.