Emerging Role of Autophagy in the Development and Progression of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Autophagy is a stress responsive process which involves degradation of damaged cellular organelles to replenish the cell with the biomolecules required for its growth and survival. It has been linked to different type of pathologies including cancer. There is an emerging role of autophagy in oral cancer progression, which indicates that autophagy could be a candidate for therapeutic targeting. This review discusses the role autophagy plays in cancer progression, including oral cancer, and autophagy targeting as a potential therapeutic approach. ABSTRACT: Autophagy is a cellular catabolic process, which is characterized by degradation of damaged proteins and organelles needed to supply the cell with essential nutrients. At basal levels, autophagy is important to maintain cellular homeostasis and development. It is also a stress responsive process that allows the cells to survive when subjected to stressful conditions such as nutrient deprivation. Autophagy has been implicated in many pathologies including cancer. It is well established that autophagy plays a dual role in different cancer types. There is emerging role of autophagy in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) development and progression. This review will focus on the role played by autophagy in relation to different aspects of cancer progression and discuss recent studies exploring the role of autophagy in OSCC. It will further discuss potential therapeutic approaches to target autophagy in OSCC.