Fatty acid synthase and the lipogenic phenotype in cancer pathogenesis

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.