In a cancer setting, the autophagy–lysosome system is crucial for the survival and dissemination of KRAS-mutated adenocarcinomas, which are characterized by the ability to grow in nutrient- and oxygen-deficient environments (Guo et al., 2011; Yang et al., 2011; Commisso et al., 2013; Mancias et al., 2014; Perera and Bardeesy, 2015; Perera et al., 2015; Davidson et al., 2017). The gene discussed is KRAS; the disease is cancer.