Adipo-oncology: adipocyte-derived factors govern engraftment, survival, and progression of metastatic cancers

• Published in: Cell communication and signaling 2024-01, Vol.22 (1), p.52-52, Article 52
• Main Author: Sato, Shinya
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipo-oncology; Adipocyte; Adipocytes; Adipocytes - pathology; Adipokines; Adiponectin; Amino acids; Antidiabetics; Body fat; Breast cancer; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Care and treatment; Cell cycle; Cell migration; Cell proliferation; Cellular proteins; Clinical trials; Colorectal cancer; Development and progression; Drug dosages; Drug resistance; Endocrine therapy; Exercise; Fat cells; Fibroblasts; Health aspects; Humans; Insulin resistance; Leptin; Metastases; Metastasis; Molecular targeted therapy; Neoplasms - pathology; Obesity; Oncology; Oncology, Experimental; Phosphorylation; Prostate; Tumor metastasis; Tumor Microenvironment; Tumors; Weight control
• ISSN: 1478-811X; 1478-811X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12964-024-01474-4

Conventional therapies for metastatic cancers have limited efficacy. Recently, cancer therapies targeting noncancerous cells in tumor microenvironments have shown improved clinical outcomes in patients. However, further advances in our understanding of the metastatic tumor microenvironment are required to improve treatment outcomes. Adipocytes are distributed throughout the body, and as a part of the metastatic tumor microenvironment, they interact with cancer cells in almost all organs. Adipocytes secrete various factors that are reported to exert clinical effects on cancer progression, including engraftment, survival, and expansion at the metastatic sites. However, only a few studies have comprehensively examined their impact on cancer cells. In this review, we examined the impact of adipocytes on cancer by describing the adipocyte-secreted factors that are involved in controlling metastatic cancer, focusing on adipokines, such as adiponectin, leptin, visfatin, chemerin, resistin, apelin, and omentin. Adipocyte-secreted factors promote cancer metastasis and contribute to various biological functions of cancer cells, including migration, invasion, proliferation, immune evasion, and drug resistance at the metastatic sites. We propose the establishment and expansion of "adipo-oncology" as a research field to enhance the comprehensive understanding of the role of adipocytes in metastatic cancers and the development of more robust metastatic cancer treatments.