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Molecular Pharmacology

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Rapid CommunicationMinireview

Autophagy and Cancer Therapy

Andrew Thorburn, Douglas H. Thamm and Daniel L. Gustafson
Molecular Pharmacology June 2014, 85 (6) 830-838; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/mol.114.091850
Andrew Thorburn
Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado (A.T.); and Flint Animal Cancer Center, Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado (D.H.T., D.L.G.)
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Douglas H. Thamm
Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado (A.T.); and Flint Animal Cancer Center, Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado (D.H.T., D.L.G.)
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Daniel L. Gustafson
Department of Pharmacology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado (A.T.); and Flint Animal Cancer Center, Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado (D.H.T., D.L.G.)
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Abstract

Autophagy is the process by which cellular material is delivered to lysosomes for degradation and recycling. There are three different types of autophagy, but macroautophagy, which involves the formation of double membrane vesicles that engulf proteins and organelles that fuse with lysosomes, is by far the most studied and is thought to have important context-dependent roles in cancer development, progression, and treatment. The roles of autophagy in cancer treatment are complicated by two important discoveries over the past few years. First, most (perhaps all) anticancer drugs, as well as ionizing radiation, affect autophagy. In most, but not all cases, these treatments increase autophagy in tumor cells. Second, autophagy affects the ability of tumor cells to die after drug treatment, but the effect of autophagy may be to promote or inhibit cell death, depending on context. Here we discuss recent research related to autophagy and cancer therapy with a focus on how these processes may be manipulated to improve cancer therapy.

Footnotes

    • Received January 15, 2014.
    • Accepted February 26, 2014.
  • This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute [Grants R01-CA111421, R01-CA150925, and P30-CA046934].

  • dx.doi.org/10.1124/mol.114.091850.

  • Copyright © 2014 by The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
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Molecular Pharmacology: 85 (6)
Molecular Pharmacology
Vol. 85, Issue 6
1 Jun 2014
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Rapid CommunicationMinireview

Autophagy and Cancer Therapy

Andrew Thorburn, Douglas H. Thamm and Daniel L. Gustafson
Molecular Pharmacology June 1, 2014, 85 (6) 830-838; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/mol.114.091850

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Rapid CommunicationMinireview

Autophagy and Cancer Therapy

Andrew Thorburn, Douglas H. Thamm and Daniel L. Gustafson
Molecular Pharmacology June 1, 2014, 85 (6) 830-838; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/mol.114.091850
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Introduction
    • Cancer Therapy Effects on Autophagy: Inhibition and Activation
    • Effects of Autophagy on Cancer Therapy: Both Positive and Negative
    • Cell Autonomous and Nonautonomous Effects of Autophagy on Cancer Therapy
    • Are We Using the Best Drugs to Inhibit Autophagy?
    • How Will We Know If We Have Affected Autophagy in a Patient’s Tumor?
    • Some Tumors Are More Dependent on Autophagy than Others
    • Summary and Problems To Be Solved
    • Acknowledgments
    • Authorship Contributions
    • Footnotes
    • Abbreviations
    • References
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