Abstract

Autophagy is a process in which subcellular membranes undergo dynamic morphological changes that lead to the degradation of cellular proteins and cytoplasmic organelles. This process is an important cellular response to stress or starvation. Many studies have shed light on the importance of autophagy in cancer, but it is still unclear whether autophagy suppresses tumorigenesis or provides cancer cells with a rescue mechanism under unfavourable conditions. What is the present state of our knowledge about the role of autophagy in cancer development, and in response to therapy? And how can the autophagic process be manipulated to improve anticancer therapeutics?

Author affiliations

1. Department of Neurosurgery, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
2. Department of Neurosurgery, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata 951, Japan.
3. Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
4. University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Science at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.

Correspondence to: Seiji Kondo^1,4 Email: seikondo@mdanderson.org

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