Research progress on cholesterol metabolism and tumor therapy

Abstract Cholesterol and its metabolic derivatives have important biological functions and are crucial in tumor initiation, progression, and treatment. Cholesterol maintains the physical properties of cellular membranes and is pivotal in cell signal transduction. Cholesterol metabolism includes both...

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Main Authors: Zewen Chu, Lei Fang, Yanwei Xiang, Yue Ding
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-04-01
Series:Discover Oncology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-025-02430-5
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author Zewen Chu
Lei Fang
Yanwei Xiang
Yue Ding
author_facet Zewen Chu
Lei Fang
Yanwei Xiang
Yue Ding
author_sort Zewen Chu
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Cholesterol and its metabolic derivatives have important biological functions and are crucial in tumor initiation, progression, and treatment. Cholesterol maintains the physical properties of cellular membranes and is pivotal in cell signal transduction. Cholesterol metabolism includes both de novo synthesis and uptake from extracellular sources such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). This review explores both aspects to provide a comprehensive understanding of their roles in cancer. Cholesterol metabolism is involved in bile acid production and steroid hormone biosynthesis and is closely linked to the reprogramming of endogenous and exogenous cellular signals within the tumor microenvironment. These signals are intricately associated with key biological processes such as tumor cell proliferation, survival, invasion, and metastasis. Evidence suggests that regulating cholesterol metabolism may offer therapeutic benefits by inhibiting tumor growth, remodeling the immune microenvironment, and enhancing antitumor immune responses. This review summarizes the role of cholesterol metabolism in tumor biology and discusses the application of statins and other cholesterol metabolism inhibitors in cancer therapy, aiming to provide novel insights for the development of antitumor drugs targeting cholesterol metabolism and for advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment.
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series Discover Oncology
spelling doaj-art-55713e326e0e4551ae94e9a0e93ca42b2025-08-20T02:55:35ZengSpringerDiscover Oncology2730-60112025-04-0116112310.1007/s12672-025-02430-5Research progress on cholesterol metabolism and tumor therapyZewen Chu0Lei Fang1Yanwei Xiang2Yue Ding3School of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineSchool of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineSchool of Rehabilitation Science, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineSchool of Pharmacy, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese MedicineAbstract Cholesterol and its metabolic derivatives have important biological functions and are crucial in tumor initiation, progression, and treatment. Cholesterol maintains the physical properties of cellular membranes and is pivotal in cell signal transduction. Cholesterol metabolism includes both de novo synthesis and uptake from extracellular sources such as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL). This review explores both aspects to provide a comprehensive understanding of their roles in cancer. Cholesterol metabolism is involved in bile acid production and steroid hormone biosynthesis and is closely linked to the reprogramming of endogenous and exogenous cellular signals within the tumor microenvironment. These signals are intricately associated with key biological processes such as tumor cell proliferation, survival, invasion, and metastasis. Evidence suggests that regulating cholesterol metabolism may offer therapeutic benefits by inhibiting tumor growth, remodeling the immune microenvironment, and enhancing antitumor immune responses. This review summarizes the role of cholesterol metabolism in tumor biology and discusses the application of statins and other cholesterol metabolism inhibitors in cancer therapy, aiming to provide novel insights for the development of antitumor drugs targeting cholesterol metabolism and for advances in cancer diagnosis and treatment.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-025-02430-5Cholesterol metabolismTumorigenesisTherapyClinical application
spellingShingle Zewen Chu
Lei Fang
Yanwei Xiang
Yue Ding
Research progress on cholesterol metabolism and tumor therapy
Discover Oncology
Cholesterol metabolism
Tumorigenesis
Therapy
Clinical application
title Research progress on cholesterol metabolism and tumor therapy
title_full Research progress on cholesterol metabolism and tumor therapy
title_fullStr Research progress on cholesterol metabolism and tumor therapy
title_full_unstemmed Research progress on cholesterol metabolism and tumor therapy
title_short Research progress on cholesterol metabolism and tumor therapy
title_sort research progress on cholesterol metabolism and tumor therapy
topic Cholesterol metabolism
Tumorigenesis
Therapy
Clinical application
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s12672-025-02430-5
work_keys_str_mv AT zewenchu researchprogressoncholesterolmetabolismandtumortherapy
AT leifang researchprogressoncholesterolmetabolismandtumortherapy
AT yanweixiang researchprogressoncholesterolmetabolismandtumortherapy
AT yueding researchprogressoncholesterolmetabolismandtumortherapy