The interplay between Ras, Autophagy and cancer

Autophagy is an evolutionary conserved process of self-degradation and turnover of cellular components. The role of autophagy in human diseases is complexed as it can promote or inhibit disease progression. In cancer, autophagy can be detrimental or protective, depending on cellular contexts. Ras, a small GTPase, regulates various cell-signaling pathways, most of which are related to cell growth, survival and proliferation. Importantly, mutations in Ras appear in more than 30% of human cancers. In the current review, we will discuss the connection between Ras, autophagy and cancer development. It seems that Ras can promote or suppress autophagy by affecting numerous signaling pathways. In turn, depending on the cellular system, autophagy can affect the tumorigenicity driven by Ras. Also, Ras inhibitors can induce tumor-protective autophagy, while other anti-Ras agents which induce autophagy can promote anti-cancer effect of the treatment. Additionally, the effect of Ras inhibitors on autophagy with and without co-treatment with other agents will be discussed.