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Targeting Autophagy to Treat Cancer: Challenges and Opportunities

Junghyun Lim1, Aditya Murthy1

  • 1Department of Cancer Immunology, Genentech, Inc., South San Francisco, CA, United States.

Frontiers in Pharmacology
|December 31, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Autophagy, a cellular process, can promote cancer by driving treatment resistance and metabolic changes. Targeting this pathway offers potential for novel cancer therapies, despite existing challenges.

Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Autophagy is a cellular degradation process crucial for tissue homeostasis.
  • Its role in cancer is complex, potentially inhibiting tumor initiation but promoting established disease.
  • Autophagy contributes to treatment resistance, metabolic reprogramming, and immunosuppression in tumors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the dual role of autophagy in cancer progression.
  • To highlight autophagy's contribution to resistance against targeted and immunotherapies.
  • To identify knowledge gaps for advancing autophagy-targeted cancer therapies.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on autophagy in cancer.
  • Analysis of genetic models elucidating autophagy-related gene functions in tumors.
  • Examination of pharmacological strategies for autophagy inhibition.

Main Results:

  • Autophagy plays a pro-tumorigenic role in established cancers, driving resistance.
  • It impacts tumors intrinsically and extrinsically, affecting metabolism and immune evasion.
  • Genetic models reveal specific roles of autophagy genes in tumor progression.

Conclusions:

  • Autophagy is a significant driver of resistance to cancer therapies.
  • Targeting autophagy presents a promising therapeutic strategy.
  • Further research is needed to overcome challenges in clinical autophagy inhibition for cancer treatment.
Keywords:
agyautophcancerimmunologyimmunotherapyoncology

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