Autophagy and chemotherapy resistance: a promising therapeutic target for cancer treatment
1Department of Medical Oncology, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Abstract:
Induction of cell death and inhibition of cell survival are the main principles of cancer therapy. Resistance to chemotherapeutic agents is a major problem in oncology, which limits the effectiveness of anticancer drugs. A variety of factors contribute to drug resistance, including host factors, specific genetic or epigenetic alterations in the cancer cells and so on. Although various mechanisms by which cancer cells become resistant to anticancer drugs in the microenvironment have been well elucidated, how to circumvent this resistance to improve anticancer efficacy remains to be defined. Autophagy, an important homeostatic cellular recycling mechanism, is now emerging as a crucial player in response to metabolic and therapeutic stresses, which attempts to maintain/restore metabolic homeostasis through the catabolic lysis of excessive or unnecessary proteins and injured or aged organelles. Recently, several studies have shown that autophagy constitutes a potential target for cancer therapy and the induction of autophagy in response to therapeutics can be viewed as having a prodeath or a prosurvival role, which contributes to the anticancer efficacy of these drugs as well as drug resistance. Thus, understanding the novel function of autophagy may allow us to develop a promising therapeutic strategy to enhance the effects of chemotherapy and improve clinical outcomes in the treatment of cancer patients.
Insights
Cancer cells develop resistance to chemotherapy, limiting treatment effectiveness. Understanding autophagy, a cellular recycling process, may reveal new strategies to enhance chemotherapy and improve patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Medicine
Background:
- Cancer therapy relies on inducing cell death and inhibiting cell survival.
- Chemotherapeutic drug resistance is a significant challenge in oncology, reducing treatment efficacy.
- Mechanisms of drug resistance involve host factors and cancer cell alterations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the role of autophagy in cancer drug resistance.
- To identify novel therapeutic strategies targeting autophagy for improved cancer treatment.
- To understand how autophagy influences the efficacy of chemotherapy.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent studies on autophagy in cancer.
- Analysis of the dual role of autophagy (pro-death vs. pro-survival) in response to therapy.
- Investigation of cellular recycling mechanisms in response to metabolic and therapeutic stress.
Main Results:
- Autophagy acts as a crucial cellular recycling mechanism.
- Autophagy plays a dual role in cancer therapy, potentially promoting cell death or survival.
- Induction of autophagy can contribute to both anticancer drug efficacy and resistance.
Conclusions:
- Autophagy is a critical factor in the response to cancer therapy.
- Targeting autophagy presents a promising therapeutic strategy to overcome drug resistance.
- Further understanding of autophagy's function may enhance chemotherapy effectiveness and improve patient outcomes.
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