Fatty Acid Oxidation Found to Directly Fuel Tumor Growth, Researchers Say (Image supported by ChatGPT)
SEOUL, May 17 (Korea Bizwire) — A groundbreaking study by South Korea’s National Cancer Center has revealed that high-fat diets may directly accelerate the growth of cancer cells by altering how those cells metabolize fat for energy — a discovery that could pave the way for a new class of targeted cancer therapies.
The research, led by Dr. Kim Soo-Yeol and his team, was published in the May issue of the internationally respected journal Theranostics. It challenges the longstanding view that obesity-linked cancer progression is primarily due to the indirect effects of inflammation-related hormones.
Instead, the study provides direct evidence that cancer cells can metabolize fat through a process known as fatty acid oxidation (FAO) to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a primary energy source. The resulting metabolic surge, the researchers found, significantly fuels tumor growth.
In a 23-week experiment, mice with pancreatic cancer fed a high-fat diet gained twice the weight and developed tumors more than twice the size of those fed a carbohydrate-based diet of equal calories.
Crucially, when the researchers genetically suppressed SLC25A20 — a key gene enabling fatty acid oxidation in cancer cells — tumor growth in the high-fat group dropped to levels similar to those on a normal diet, and in some cases, tumors disappeared entirely.
The study also found that high-carbohydrate diets inhibited tumor growth by as much as 80% compared to high-fat diets.
“SLC25A20 acts as a crucial gateway for fat metabolism in cancer cells,” the research team stated. “Blocking this gene impairs the cancer’s ability to produce energy, offering a promising and low-risk therapeutic target.”
The National Cancer Center emphasized that this is the first study to demonstrate this mechanism, and the findings could accelerate the development of novel anticancer drugs targeting SLC25A20. Clinical applications and commercialization efforts are now underway.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
