Autophagy is a survival-promoting pathway that captures, degrades, and recycles
intracellular proteins and organelles in lysosomes. Autophagy preserves organelle function,
prevents the toxic buildup of cellular waste products, and provides substrates to sustain
metabolism in starvation. Although in some contexts autophagy suppresses tumorigenesis,
in most contexts autophagy facilitates tumorigenesis. Cancers can upregulate autophagy to
survive microenvironmental stress and to increase growth and aggressiveness. Mechanisms …

Autophagy (also known as macroautophagy) captures intracellular components in
autophagosomes and delivers them to lysosomes, where they are degraded and recycled.
Autophagy can have two functions in cancer. It can be tumour suppressive through the
elimination of oncogenic protein substrates, toxic unfolded proteins and damaged
organelles. Alternatively, it can be tumour promoting in established cancers through
autophagy-mediated intracellular recycling that provides substrates for metabolism and that …