Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors as therapeutic target for cancer

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are transcription factors belonging to the nuclear receptor family. There are three subtypes of PPARs, including PPAR-α, PPAR-β/δ and PPAR-γ. They are expressed in different tissues and act by regulating the expression of target genes in the form of binding to ligands. Various subtypes of PPAR have been shown to have significant roles in a wide range of biological processes including lipid metabolism, body energy homeostasis, cell proliferation and differentiation, bone formation, tissue repair and remodelling. Recent studies have found that PPARs are closely related to tumours. They are involved in cancer cell growth, angiogenesis and tumour immune response, and are essential components in tumour progression and metastasis. As such, they have become a target for cancer therapy research. In this review, we discussed the current state of knowledge on the involvement of PPARs in cancer, including their role in tumourigenesis, the impact of PPARs in tumour microenvironment and the potential of using PPARs combinational therapy to treat cancer by targeting essential signal pathways, or as adjuvants to boost the effects of current chemo and immunotherapies. Our review highlights the complexity of PPARs in cancer and the need for a better understanding of the mechanism in order to design effective cancer therapies.