Recent insights into the function of autophagy in cancer

Macroautophagy (referred to here as autophagy) is induced by starvation to capture and degrade intracellular proteins and organelles in lysosomes, which recycles intracellular components to sustain metabolism and survival. Autophagy also plays a major homeostatic role in controlling protein and organelle quality and quantity. Dysfunctional autophagy contributes to many diseases. In cancer, autophagy can be neutral, tumor-suppressive, or tumor-promoting in different contexts. Large-scale genomic analysis of human cancers indicates that the loss or mutation of core autophagy genes is uncommon, whereas oncogenic events that activate autophagy and lysosomal biogenesis have been identified. Autophagic flux,…

• AC
  American Cancer Society

  Award: RSG-13-298-01-TBG
• RW
  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Awards: SPORE P50 CA174523, P01 CA114046, GM095567, R01CA198015, P50 CA174523, R01CA188096, R01CA193970, R01CA130893, P30 CA72720, P30 CA016520, CA114046, R01CA188048, R01CA169134, R01CA163591, CA016520, CA72720, R01CA157490