The dynamic nature of autophagy in cancer
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Implication
Narrative review reveals dual stage-dependent roles of autophagy in cancer, suggesting targeting cellular recycling could overcome therapeutic resistance.
Key Points
- To delineate the context-dependent functions of autophagy across different stages of cancer development and explore the therapeutic implications of modulating this pathway.
- Review and synthesis of molecular and preclinical literature examining macroautophagy across diverse tumor stages, genetic contexts, and tissue types.
- Evaluation of metabolic adaptation, cellular stress reduction, and therapy-induced survival responses mediated by autophagy.
- Autophagy acts as an intrinsic tumor suppressor during early stages by degrading damaged organelles and proteins to prevent cellular transformation.
- In established neoplastic lesions, autophagy undergoes an adaptive switch to promote tumor maintenance by supplying metabolic intermediates and mitigating oxidative stress.
- Therapy-induced autophagy contributes directly to cancer cell survival, highlighting anti-autophagy interventions as a viable strategy to enhance drug sensitivity.
Cite This Study
Alec C. Kimmelman (2011) studied this question.