Fatty acid synthase and the lipogenic phenotype in cancer pathogenesis

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) catalyses the synthesis of fatty acids, and this synthetic pathway is upregulated in many tumours. How might FASN and increased lipogenesis be involved in cancer, and is FASN a valid therapeutic target? 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.