Autophagy in Cancer and Metastasis

Dear Colleagues,

Autophagy is a conserved catabolic process necessary for cells to maintain homeostasis and to respond to different environmental stresses through the recycling of their damaged cellular proteins, organelles, and other cellular components. Alteration in autophagy machinery may lead to diverse pathological conditions, including cancer. A close relationship between autophagy, malignant transformation, and cancer progression has been demonstrated in recent decades. Emerging evidence shows a role for autophagy in the modulation of tumor cell motility and invasion, in the promotion and maintenance of the stem-cell phenotype, in drug resistance, in tumor dormancy, and in immune surveillance, all of which are involved in the survival of cancer cells and in the development of metastases. Autophagy has both pro- and anti-tumorigenic roles, depending on the oncogenic context and the stage of tumorigenesis.

This Topical Collection provides a general overview of how autophagy affects cancer growth and modulates the development and spread of metastases. Particular emphasis will be given to the new ways of targeting autophagy to improve treatment outcomes or prevent cancer progression and metastatic disease.

Research and review articles on this topic are invited.

Dr. Paola Maroni
Prof. Dr. Giovanni Lombardi
Dr. Marta Gomarasca
Collection Editors

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