Modulation of Autophagy as a Novel Cancer Therapeutic Strategy

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved cellular catabolic process in which dysfunctional cellular proteins and damaged organelles are engulfed by autophagosomes and finally fused with lysosomes for degradation. Among the various biological functions of autophagy identified so far, the link between autophagy and cancer is probably among the most extensively studied and yet remains rather controversial. Autophagy might exert a dual role in cancer development: (a) autophagy serves as anti-cancer mechanism by suppressing cancer development via limiting tumor initiation, and (b) autophagy promotes cancer development by providing the survival edge for the cancer cells at the advanced stage. Here, we aim to provide a systematic review on the close crosstalks between autophagy and cancer and summarize the current status in development of novel cancer therapeutic approaches by targeting autophagy.