Cited by 97Cancer, Lipids, and MetabolismImmune cells in cancerAdipose Tissue and Metabolism

Drilling for Oil: Tumor-Surrounding Adipocytes Fueling Cancer

Open access
Attané, Camille, Muller, Catherine·2020·Trends in Cancer

Abstract

Over the past decade, it has become apparent that metabolic reprogramming is a key event in tumor progression. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is a source of metabolites for tumor cells. Lipid-filled mature adipocytes are frequently found in proximity to invasive human tumors and release free fatty acids (FFAs) through lipolysis. These FFAs are taken up by tumor cells and used to promote tumor progression by mechanisms that include mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation (FAO). This review discusses recent advances in our understanding of this metabolic symbiosis between adipocytes and cancer cells and underlines the differences in this metabolic crosstalk between the various types of cancer and their localization.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.trecan.2020.03.001

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  • Adipocytes function as metabolic contributors to tumor progression by releasing free fatty acids that adjacent tumor cells take up for ATP generation, membrane phospholipid synthesis, and lipid-based signaling.

    “These alterations reflect a shift toward a metabolically active state, wherein adipocytes undergo lipolysis to release free fatty acids (FFAs). These FFAs are readily taken up by adjacent tumor cells and utilized for multiple oncogenic processes, including ATP generation via β-oxidation, synthesis of membrane phospholipids, and production of lipid-based signaling molecules that regulate”

    From Modeling Tumor Microenvironment Complexity In Vitro: Spheroids as Physiologically Relevant Tumor Models and Strategies for Their Analysis (2025) · cites this paper as [60]

    Box 3 (page unavailable) describes adipocyte lipolysis releasing FFAs that tumor cells take up, and explains how fatty-acid oxidation can lead to ATP production. It does not establish that those adipocyte-derived FFAs are used to synthesize membrane phospholipids or lipid-based signaling molecules. The section on mechanisms of lipid release says the implications of other lipid species carried by adipocyte vesicles for cancer crosstalk have not been explored. (LLM, conf=0.88)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Attané, C., & Muller, C.
Affiliations
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
Corresponding author
Muller, Catherine
Venue
Trends in Cancer
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-07
Volume
6
Issue
7
Pages
593-604
ISSN
  • 2405-8025 (ISSN-L)
  • 2405-8033
OpenAlex
W3013907718
Cited by
97
References
86
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 4
FWCI
1.02
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Trends in cancer (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
Funders
  • Ligue Contre le Cancer
  • Fondation de France
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer, Lipids, and Metabolism
  • Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immune cells in cancer
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Adipose Tissue and Metabolism
Keywords
tumor microenvironment, metabolic reprogramming, free fatty acids, lipolysis, fatty acid oxidation, cancer metabolism, metabolic crosstalk, tumor progression
MeSH terms
Extracellular Vesicles, Energy Metabolism, Fatty Acids, Nonesterified, Humans, Lipase, Lipolysis, Mitochondria, Neoplasms, Oxidation-Reduction, Adipocytes, Disease Progression, Tumor Microenvironment, Lipid Droplets

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