The Role of Lipid Metabolism in the Progression of Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies globally, it is closely associated with lipid metabolism reprogramming. Targeting lipid metabolism pathways has become a promising strategy for breast cancer treatment. Lipid metabolism encompasses the biochemical processes of lipid biosynthesis, catabolism, uptake, and post-synthetic modification. Dysregulation of these processes can promote tumorigenesis and cancer cell metastasis. This review summarizes four major facets of lipid metabolism, including fatty acid (FA) metabolism, cholesterol metabolism, phospholipid (PL) metabolism, and sphingolipid metabolism. It also discusses the roles of key molecules in these pathways in breast cancer, including FA synthase (FASN), cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36), and acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4). These molecules may improve therapeutic responses, overcome drug resistance, and reshape the tumor immune microenvironment by regulating FA synthesis and lipid uptake. Targeting lipid metabolic pathways may provide potential biomarkers for patient stratification and therapeutic guidance, and may also offer new opportunities for cancer treatment.