A study by the Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology of the National Research Council (CNR-IBPM) in Rome, already published in the journal "Autophagy", has identified a new molecule, SM15, that succeeds in inhibiting cellular autophagy, which is the process by which damaged components of proteins are used to build new protein molecules. This process allows cancer cells, in some cases, to survive. "In tumors, autophagy plays a dual role, because it is able to promote the survival or death of cancer cells, depending on the type and stage of the tumor," explains Daniela Trisciuoglio, a CNR-IBPM researcher and coordinator of the study. "This small molecule prevents a specific phase of autophagy and, at the same time, blocks mitosis, through which two daughter cells are generated from one cell from the same chromosomal kit as the original one. This results in cancer cells being unable to reproduce and regenerate, causing their death".