Host Control of Tumor Feeding: Autophagy Holds the Key

Cancer cells are dependent on functional autophagy both within their cytoplasm and systemically in the host to maintain growth. How systemic autophagy directly contributes to tumor growth remains unclear. In a study published in Nature , Poillet-Perez et al. (2018) show that host autophagy helps to maintain the levels of circulating arginine that feed tumor growth.