Tumour fatty acid metabolism in the context of therapy resistance and obesity

Andrew J. Hoy, Shilpa R. Nagarajan, Lisa M. Butler

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

203 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Fatty acid metabolism is known to support tumorigenesis and disease progression as well as treatment resistance through enhanced lipid synthesis, storage and catabolism. More recently, the role of membrane fatty acid composition, for example, ratios of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, in promoting cell survival while limiting lipotoxicity and ferroptosis has been increasingly appreciated. Alongside these insights, it has become clear that tumour cells exhibit plasticity with respect to fatty acid metabolism, responding to extratumoural and systemic metabolic signals, such as obesity and cancer therapeutics, to promote the development of aggressive, treatment-resistant disease. Here, we describe cellular fatty acid metabolic changes that are connected to therapy resistance and contextualize obesity-associated changes in host fatty acid metabolism that likely influence the local tumour microenvironment to further modify cancer cell behaviour while simultaneously creating potential new vulnerabilities.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)753-766
Number of pages14
JournalNature Reviews Cancer
Volume21
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished or Issued - Dec 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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