Abstract
Autophagy is an evolutionary process preserved in eukaryotes, which removes harmful components and maintains cell homeostasis in response to a variety of extracellular stimuli. It is involved in both physiological and pathological conditions, including cancer.The role of autophagy in the treatment of cancer is described as a “double-edged sword”, which reflects its involvement in tumor suppression, survival and subsequent proliferation of tumor cells. Recent advances are useful for planning appropriate adjustments to inhibit or promote autophagy in order to obtain therapeutic efficacy in cancer patients. The objectives of this review are to clarify the role of autophagy in cancer and to highlight the need for more research in the field.
Highlights
Tumorigenesis is a complex multistage process which involves tumor initiation, promotion, progression to malignancy and metastasis
Other studies have shown that polyphenols activate autophagy, controlling cell regulator mechanisms; these results provide strong support to the idea that plant polyphenols are really useful in treating diseases such as cancer, where autophagy plays an important role [53]
Autophagy can act in two ways during cancer development: as a mechanism of tumor suppression or as an adaptive response to stress to maintain cell survival
Summary
Tumorigenesis is a complex multistage process which involves tumor initiation, promotion, progression to malignancy and metastasis. Tumor cells are characterized mainly by the result of uncontrolled proliferation processes, where cell division occurs faster. Other affected molecular mechanisms are programmed cell death or apoptosis, and the cell cycle [1]. Autophagy plays an important role, in the different stages of tumorigenesis, and in disease states that lead to a microenvironment that promotes tumorigenesis. The role of this process in pathological states associated with higher risk of cancer, such as chronic liver disease, obesity and inflammatory bowel disease, is increasingly clear [2,3,4]. Autophagy as a therapy against cancer, mainly in tumor cells with competent autophagy and defective autophagy, and induction of cell death by autophagy as a therapeutic strategy are discussed
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