Frontiers in Pharmacology (Mar 2023)

Unravelling the role of obesity and lipids during tumor progression

  • Junzhe Zhao,
  • Junzhe Zhao,
  • Keene Lee,
  • Han Chong Toh,
  • Kong Peng Lam,
  • Kong Peng Lam,
  • Kong Peng Lam,
  • Shi Yong Neo,
  • Shi Yong Neo

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2023.1163160
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14

Abstract

Read online

The dysregulation of the biochemical pathways in cancer promotes oncogenic transformations and metastatic potential. Recent studies have shed light on how obesity and altered lipid metabolism could be the driving force for tumor progression. Here, in this review, we focus on liver cancer and discuss how obesity and lipid-driven metabolic reprogramming affect tumor, immune, and stroma cells in the tumor microenvironment and, in turn, how alterations in these cells synergize to influence and contribute to tumor growth and dissemination. With increasing evidence on how obesity exacerbates inflammation and immune tolerance, we also touch upon the impact of obesity and altered lipid metabolism on tumor immune escape.

Keywords