AFP and cancer: Paradoxically, EGCG could potentially activate autophagy in certain cases to protect normal cells31 or sensitize the cancer cells to chemotherapy drugs.32 EGCG could notably increase autophagosome synthesis instead of inhibiting LC3-II degradation upon adding a proton pump inhibitor, such as bafilomycin A1, at saturating concentrations in raw cells.21 Our results supported this opinion, and we proposed that autophagy should be one way of degrading intracellular AFP (Figure 6).