Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine in antitumor therapies based on autophagy-related mechanisms.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of biological mechanisms and clinical rationale without systematic review methodology
PubMed 33775862 · doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2021.105582
What was done
Narrative review summarizing the molecular and cellular mechanisms of chloroquine (CQ) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as adjuvant antitumor agents, focusing on autophagy inhibition, resistance pathways, and non-autophagic cell death pathways.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data or statistical findings. Qualitatively, CQ and HCQ disrupt autophagosome-lysosome fusion, enhance the antiproliferative action of chemotherapeutics, and trigger non-autophagic cell death via apoptosis, necroptosis, and immunomodulatory effects. However, multidrug resistance (MDR) gene mechanisms can expel 4-aminoquinolines from digestive vacuoles to induce resistance, and the links between these mechanisms, clinical efficacy, and safety remain incompletely defined.
Why it matters
Summarizes the mechanistic rationale and translational challenges of repurposing 4-aminoquinolines as autophagy-inhibiting chemo-sensitizers in cancer therapy.
Limits
Narrative review design without systematic search criteria, meta-analysis, or quality appraisal. The abstract provides no quantitative clinical outcome data, safety endpoints, or sample sizes.
Cited by
- supports Chloroquine functions as an autophagy inhibitor and has been utilized in cancer therapeutics.