Autophagy refers to a ubiquitous set of catabolic pathways required to achieve proper cellular homeostasis. Aberrant autophagy has been implicated in a multitude of diseases including cancer. In this review, we highlight pioneering and groundbreaking research that centers on delineating the role of autophagy in cancer initiation, proliferation and metastasis. First, we discuss the autophagy-related (ATG) proteins and their respective roles in the de novo formation of autophagosomes and the subsequent delivery of cargo to the lysosome for recycling. Next, we touch upon the history of cancer research that centers upon ATG proteins and regulatory mechanisms that control an appropriate autophagic response and how these are altered in the diseased state. Then, we discuss the various discoveries that led to the idea of autophagy as a double-edged sword when it comes to cancer therapy. This review also briefly narrates how different types of autophagy—selective macroautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy, have been linked to different cancers. Overall, these studies build upon a steadfast trajectory that aims to solve the monumentally daunting challenge of finding a cure for many types of cancer by modulating autophagy either through inhibition or induction.

自噬是指实现适当的细胞稳态所需的一组普遍存在的分解代谢途径。异常自噬与包括癌症在内的多种疾病有关。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了以描绘自噬在癌症起始、增殖和转移中的作用为中心的开拓性和开创性研究。首先，我们讨论了自噬相关( ATG ) 蛋白及其在从头合成中的各自作用自噬体的形成以及随后将货物运送到溶酶体进行回收。接下来，我们将介绍以 ATG 蛋白和控制适当的自噬反应的调节机制为中心的癌症研究的历史，以及这些在疾病状态下如何改变。然后，我们讨论了导致自噬在癌症治疗中作为一把双刃剑的想法的各种发现。这篇综述还简要介绍了不同类型的自噬——选择性巨自噬和分子伴侣介导的自噬——如何与不同的癌症相关联。总的来说，这些研究建立在一个坚定的轨迹之上，该轨迹旨在通过抑制或诱导调节自噬来解决寻找多种癌症治疗方法这一巨大的艰巨挑战。