Abstract

There is a renewed interest in the ultimate role of fatty acid synthase (FASN) — a key lipogenic enzyme catalysing the terminal steps in the de novo biogenesis of fatty acids — in cancer pathogenesis. Tumour-associated FASN, by conferring growth and survival advantages rather than functioning as an anabolic energy-storage pathway, appears to necessarily accompany the natural history of most human cancers. A recent identification of cross-talk between FASN and well-established cancer-controlling networks begins to delineate the oncogenic nature of FASN-driven lipogenesis. FASN, a nearly-universal druggable target in many human carcinomas and their precursor lesions, offers new therapeutic opportunities for metabolically treating and preventing cancer.

Author affiliations

1. Translational Research Unit, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Health Services Division of Catalonia, Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IdIBGi), Medical Oncology, Josep Trueta University Hospital of Girona, 17,007 Girona, Catalonia, Spain.
2. Breast Cancer Translational Research Program, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare Research Institute (ENHRI), The Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 1001 University Place, 60201 Evanston, Illinois, USA.

Correspondence to: Ruth Lupu² Email: r-lupu@northwestern.edu

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