The role of autophagy in resistance to targeted therapies

Autophagy is a self-degradative cellular process, involved in stress response such as starvation, hypoxia, and oxidative stress. This mechanism balances macro-molecule recycling to regulate cell homeostasis. In cancer, autophagy play a role in the development and progression, while several studies describe it as one of the key processes in drug resistance. In the last years, in addition to standard anti-cancer treatments such as chemotherapies and irradiation, targeted therapy became one of the most adopted strategies in clinical practices, mainly due to high specificity and reduced side effects.

Source: Cancer Treatment Reviews - May 28, 2020 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Luigi Mele, Vitale del Vecchio, Davide Liccardo, Claudia Prisco, Melanie Schwerdtfeger, Nirmal Robinson, Vincenzo Desiderio, Virginia Tirino, Gianpaolo Papaccio, Marcella La Noce Tags: Anti-tumour Treatment Source Type: research