SEVİNÇ İNAN, EMRE BARIŞ
Acta Odontologica Turcica - 2025;42(3):156-160
Autophagy is a universally preserved process in which cells break down their own intracellular organelles to control their regular renewal and eliminate dysfunctional organelles to maintain a balance inside the cell. Autophagy is a biological mechanism that helps cells adapt and protect themselves against stressors such as hypoxia, nutrient deficiency, and energy deprivation. Disruption of autophagy has been linked to a range of diseases, such as neurological disorders, infectious diseases, and cancer. Oral cancer is a highly destructive illness that results in the loss of numerous lives globally annually. The existing array of therapy modalities fails to adequately address the requirements of patients. Personalized medicine or targeted medicines are necessary due to the heterogeneity of the disease. Hence, it is imperative to promptly identify possible targets for oral cancer therapy. Autophagy has been discovered to potentially play a function in both the inhibition and advancement of oral cancer. Cancer cells employ the autophagy mechanism to enhance their survival in response to the stress induced by chemotherapy. Hence, it is of utmost importance to comprehend the processes underlying the suppression of cytoprotective catabolism and the exploitation of autophagic cell death to enhance the susceptibility of malignant tumor cells to certain therapeutic drugs and devise efficacious treatment strategies.
