“Autophagy, the process of “self-eating” within cells, has been controversial in cancer since it was first linked to the disease in 1999. Because autophagy can either suppress or promote tumors, depending on the context. A consensus is emerging that it’s the tumor promotion role of autophagy that’s important in established tumors.”
http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/04/22/jnci.djr168.extract
