Autophagy and cancer

Figure 1 Schematic summary of the role of autophagy in cancer. Autophagy contributes to tumor suppression as well as tumor maintenance and therapy resistance. The mechanisms by which autophagy is involved in tumor suppression include limiting the accumulation of ROS and P62, and inducing senescence and cell death. On the other hand, autophagy facilities tumor maintenance and therapy resistance by providing the tumor with metabolic substrates and maintaining intracellular homeostasis (organelle quality control), and by possibly contributing to the maintenance of CSC phenotype. CSC: Cancer stem cell; ROS: Reactive oxygen species.