Fatty acids in cancer chemoresistance

Abstract

Despite the remarkable clinical success of immunotherapy and molecular targeted therapy in patients with advanced tumors, chemotherapy remains the most commonly used treatment for most tumor patients. Chemotherapy drugs effectively inhibit tumor cell proliferation and survival through their remarkable mechanisms. However, tumor cells often develop severe intrinsic and acquired chemoresistance under chemotherapy stress, limiting the effectiveness of chemotherapy and leading to treatment failure. Growing evidence suggests that alterations in lipid metabolism may be implicated in the development of chemoresistance in tumors. Therefore, in this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of fatty acid metabolism and its impact on chemoresistance mechanisms. Additionally, we discuss the potential of targeting fatty acid metabolism as a therapeutic strategy to overcome drug resistance.

Keywords: Chemoresistance; ER stress; Fatty acid metabolism; Ferroptosis; Unsaturated fatty acids.