CGAS and neoplasm: Mitochondrial autophagy exhibits dual-sided effects: on one hand, it helps tumor cells adapt to hypoxic and nutrient-deprived microenvironments by eliminating damaged mitochondria, reducing ROS accumulation and mtDNA release, thereby maintaining metabolic balance for survival; on the other hand, its excessive activation reduces tumor cell immunogenicity, suppresses innate immune pathways like cGAS-STING, and facilitates immune evasion (88).