Therapeutic implications of autophagy in cancer treatment (original) (raw)

Autophagy is a survival process in which a cell preserves its components in case of nutrient deprivation by recycling its digested contents and cannibalizing itself. It is characterized by formation of double membrane autophagosomes and it has a role in cancer treatment by many mechanisms. Interestingly, autophagy has a significant effect in the treatment of many diseases by different mechanisms. Autophagy has been included as a treatment mechanism of various diseases, such as degenerative diseases of the muscle and nervous system. Abundant autophagic vacuoles were formed inside the damaged cells in many of these degenerative disorders. Autophagy can help both living cells and cancer cells to survive so some antitumor agents targeted autophagy in cancer cells. In this review, we illustrated the definition of autophagy, autophagic pathways, therapeutic implications of autophagy in cancer, the relationship between autophagy and cell death, inflammation, and necrosis.