Autophagy-targeted nanoparticles for effective cancer treatment: advances and outlook

Autophagy enables the maintenance of nutrient recycling and metabolic homeostasis through a multistep lysosomal degradation pathway, and it has been demonstrated that autophagy can act as a tumor suppressor or tumor promoter, depending on the tumor microenvironment (TME). The dual role of autophagy in tumorigenesis results in two opposing therapeutic strategies, namely, inhibition versus promotion. However, due to the protective mechanisms of tumor cells and the absence of specific strategies for autophagy regulation, the modulation of autophagy has become a major consideration in cancer treatment. Owing to their unique properties, nanoparticles (NPs) have demonstrated excellent potential for overcoming these limitations. Here, we provide a summary of the latest progress in autophagy-targeting NPs for effective cancer treatment, and we conclude with recent advances in relevant clinical and preclinical studies. This summary of typical autophagy-targeted nano-drug delivery systems aims to provide references and expand ideas for researchers intending to explore this field. Finally, we provide an outlook on the potential of autophagy modulation in cancer treatment, and several key objective problems are carefully highlighted. Summary of the main influencing factors between autophagy and disease.