Abstract: Autophagy plays a dual role in tumor therapy. A variety of chemotherapy drugs can induce tumor autophagy by activating endoplasmic reticulum stress, and hyperactive autophagy can cause tumor cell apoptosis and plays an antitumor effect. Autophagy has a protective effect on tumor cells, which can maintain the survival of tumor cells and reduce the sensitivity of chemotherapy drugs by reusing the degradation of the damaged organelles. Therefore, the promotion or inhibition of autophagy modulators combined with chemotherapy drugs will have the potential for development in tumor therapy.

Key words: Endoplasmic reticulum, Autophagy, Drug resistance, neoplasm, Stress