Regulation of Autophagy by Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Cancer

Abstract

Xiangjie Fu,1 Tan Tan,2 Peijun Liu3 1Cholestatic Liver Diseases Center and Department of Gastroenterology, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, People’s Republic of China; 2Translational Medicine Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chenzhou, University of South China, Hunan, People’s Republic of China; 3Center for Translational Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Shanxi, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Tan Tan Tel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [email protected] Liu Tel [phone]Fax [phone]Email [email protected]: Cancer is the leading cause of death, placing a substantial global health burden. The development of the most effective treatment regimen is the unmet clinical need for cancer. Inflammation plays a role in tumorigenesis and progression, and anti-inflammation may be a promising option for cancer management and prevention. Emerging studies have shown that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) display anticarcinogenic and chemopreventive properties through the regulation of autophagy in certain types of cancer. In this review, we summarize the pharmacological functions and side effects of NSAIDs as chemotherapeutic agents, and focus on its mode of action on autophagy regulation, which increases our knowledge of NSAIDs and cancer-related inflammation, and contributes to a putative addition of NSAIDs in the chemoprevention and treatment of cancer.Keywords: NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, pharmacological function, side effects, anticancer activity, autophagy

Keywords

• nsaids (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
• pharmacological function
• side effects
• anticancer activity
• autophagy