Dualistic role of autophagy in cancer progression

This review aims to characterize the dualistic role of autophagy in both the suppression and propagation of carcinogenesis. The process of autophagy is responsible for maintaining the delicate balance between the survival and death of a cell, and in the past years it has been studied profoundly. It has been proven that the role of autophagy in maintaining genomic and structural integrity can lead to the suppression of carcinogenesis in its early stages. However, once carcinogenesis has occurred, the process of autophagy may contribute to the survival of tumor cells and, consequently, lead to tumor progression. Additionally, autophagy can modulate the response of the tumor cells to therapy, leading to radiotherapy and chemotherapy resistance or reduced susceptibility to anticancer drugs that propagate autophagy-related cell death. Although the role and course of autophagy are not yet fully known, the essence of it seems to be within our grasp. We have observed the identification of an increasing number of autophagy-related genes (ATG). Therefore, more research concerning its molecular course and potential applications in cancer treatment and prevention needs to be conducted.