<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Autophagy is an evolutionary conserved catabolic process that plays physiological and pathological roles in a cell. Its effect on cellular metabolism, the proteome, and the number and quality of organelles, diversely holds the potential to alter cellular functions. It acts paradoxically in cancer as a tumor inhibitor as well as a tumor promoter. In the early stage of tumorigenesis, it prevents tumor initiation by the so-called “quality control mechanism” and suppresses cancer progression. For late-staged tumors that are exposed to stress, it acts as a vibrant process of degradation and recycling that promotes cancer by facilitating metastasis. Despite this dichotomy, the crucial role of autophagy is evident in cancer, and associated with mammalian targets of rapamycin (mTOR), p53, and Ras-derived major cancer networks. Irrespective of the controversy regarding autophagic manipulation, promotion and suppression of autophagy act as potential therapeutic targets in cancer treatment and may provide various anticancer therapies.</p>
</abstract>

Autophagy is an evolutionary conserved catabolic process that plays physiological and pathological roles in a cell. Its effect on cellular metabolism, the proteome, and the number and quality of organelles, diversely holds the potential to alter cellular functions. It acts paradoxically in cancer as a tumor inhibitor as well as a tumor promoter. In the early stage of tumorigenesis, it prevents tumor initiation by the so-called “quality control mechanism” and suppresses cancer progression. For late-staged tumors that are exposed to stress, it acts as a vibrant process of degradation and recycling that promotes cancer by facilitating metastasis. Despite this dichotomy, the crucial role of autophagy is evident in cancer, and associated with mammalian targets of rapamycin (mTOR), p53, and Ras-derived major cancer networks. Irrespective of the controversy regarding autophagic manipulation, promotion and suppression of autophagy act as potential therapeutic targets in cancer treatment and may provide various anticancer therapies.

Dichotomous role of autophagy in cancer

Asian Biomedicine

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Dichotomous role of autophagy in cancer"}

Autophagy is an evolutionary conserved catabolic process that plays physiological and pathological roles in a cell. Its effect on cellular metabolism, the...

Dichotomous role of autophagy in cancer

Article Category: Review

Published Online: Jun 30, 2022

Page range: 111 - 120

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/abm-2022-0014

Keywords
autophagy, carcinogenesis, neoplasms, pathology, recycling therapeutics

© 2022 Amin Arif et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Dichotomous role of autophagy in cancer

Article Category: Review

Published Online: Jun 30, 2022

Page range: 111 - 120

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/abm-2022-0014

Keywordsautophagy, carcinogenesis, neoplasms, pathology, recycling therapeutics

© 2022 Amin Arif et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
autophagy, carcinogenesis, neoplasms, pathology, recycling therapeutics