Autophagy, a key cellular process for nutrient management & quality control, when defective, can lead to cancer. Efficient autophagy helps in treatment resistance, making it a crucial target in… PMID:42151413, Nat Rev Drug Discov 2026, @NatRevDrugDisc https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-026-01449-9
Autophagy is a highly conserved, finely regulated and lysosome-dependent biological process through which eukaryotic cells mobilize metabolites in response to nutrient deprivation and dispose of supernumerary or toxic cytoplasmic entities to ensure cellular quality control. In line with the notion that autophagy globally preserves cellular homeostasis, defects in the molecular machinery for autophagy generally favour malignant transformation. Conversely, proficient autophagic responses are often beneficial to developing tumours as they support the survival of malignant cells facing harsh microenvironmental conditions. Finally, the ability of neoplastic cells to undergo autophagy influences their susceptibility to anticancer immune responses in a context-dependent manner. Thus, although autophagy stands out as a major target to intercept cancer at multiple inflection points of the disease, one-size-fits-all approaches are inherently incapable of capturing the complex influence of autoph
