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Updated: Nov 22, 2025

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The diversity and breadth of cancer cell fatty acid metabolism
Shilpa R Nagarajan1,2, Lisa M Butler3,4, Andrew J Hoy5
1Discipline of Physiology, School of Medical Sciences, Charles Perkins Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Abstract:
Tumor cellular metabolism exhibits distinguishing features that collectively enhance biomass synthesis while maintaining redox balance and cellular homeostasis. These attributes reflect the complex interactions between cell-intrinsic factors such as genomic-transcriptomic regulation and cell-extrinsic influences, including growth factor and nutrient availability. Alongside glucose and amino acid metabolism, fatty acid metabolism supports tumorigenesis and disease progression through a range of processes including membrane biosynthesis, energy storage and production, and generation of signaling intermediates. Here, we highlight the complexity of cellular fatty acid metabolism in cancer, the various inputs and outputs of the intracellular free fatty acid pool, and the numerous ways that these pathways influence disease behavior.
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