It is challenging to understand the paradoxical roles of autophagy in tumor suppression and tumor promotion. This self-eating process is implicated at various stages of tumorigenesis and is a double-edged sword in cancer.
Interestingly, conventional cancer therapy has been reported to have chemoresistance as one of the primary limitations. The cytoprotective role of autophagy has been postulated as one of the mechanisms of resistance. Hence, combination therapy for cancer using autophagy inhibitors has brought into the limelight another important application of autophagy modulation.
