Current Strategies for Targeting Autophagy and ROS for Cancer Treatment

Autophagy is a lysosome-mediated self-digestion catabolic process that degrades intracellular components in response to stress, such as nutrient starvation. It is also involved in both cell survival and cell death. In parallel, reactive oxygen species (ROS) are the highly reactive molecules that regulate cellular pathways and cancer progression. ROS enhances antitumorigenic signaling and promotes tumor killing through oxidative damage. The interplay between autophagy and ROS regulation holds paramount importance in cancer biology. Alterations in the control of both autophagy and ROS contribute significantly to the initiation and progression of cancer, making them appealing targets for selective cell death induction in cancer cells. Hence, several existing therapeutic strategies have relied on ROS generation and subsequent ROS-induced autophagy. Interestingly, a combination of ROS- and autophagy-inducing agents showed potential anticancer activity synergies. Many anticancer drug molecules, notably those capable of modulating ROS and autophagy, have garnered increasing interest from researchers owing to their potent anticancer effects with minimal side effects. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of different targeting strategies and the intricate regulatory relationship between autophagy and ROS in cancer treatment. In addition, recent investigations on nanomaterials used for targeted regulation of autophagy and ROS are also discussed. This chapter underscores the promise of novel therapeutic strategy-based interventions in modulating autophagy and ROS as a novel and promising approach in the fight against cancer.