Dual Role of Lysosome in Cancer Development and Progression

Lysosomes are essential intracellular catabolic organelles that contain digestive enzymes involved in the degradation and recycle of damaged proteins, organelles, etc. Thus, they play an important role in various biological processes, including autophagy regulation, ion homeostasis, cell death, cell senescence. A myriad of studies has shown that the dysfunction of lysosome is implicated in human aging and various age-related diseases, including cancer. However, what is noteworthy is that the modulation of lysosome-based signaling and degradation has both the cancer-suppressive and cancer-promotive functions in diverse cancers depending on stage, biology, or tumor microenvironment. This dual role limits their application as targets in cancer therapy. In this review, we provide an overview of lysosome and autophagy-lysosomal pathway and outline their critical roles in many cellular processes, including cell death. We highlight the different functions of autophagy-lysosomal pathway in cancer development and progression, underscoring its potential as a target for effective cancer therapies.