Journal of Cancer 2020, Vol. 11 1761 Ivyspring International Publisher Journal of Cancer 2020; 11(7): 1761-1767. doi: 10.7150/jca.38598 Review Role of de novo cholesterol synthesis enzymes in cancer Jie Yang1,2, Lihua Wang1,2, Renbing Jia1,2 1. Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People’s Hospital of Shanghai, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. 2. Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orbital Diseases and Ocular Oncology, Shanghai, China. Corresponding authors: Renbing Jia,
[email protected] and Lihua Wang,
[email protected]. Department of Ophthalmology, Ninth People’s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No. 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai 200011, China © The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). See http://ivyspring.com/terms for full terms and conditions. Received: 2019.07.21; Accepted: 2019.11.30; Published: 2020.01.17 Abstract Despite extensive research in the cancer field, cancer remains one of the most prevalent diseases. There is an urgent need to identify specific targets that are safe and effective for the treatment of cancer. In recent years, cancer metabolism has come into the spotlight in cancer research. Lipid metabolism, especially cholesterol metabolism, plays a critical role in membrane synthesis as well as lipid signaling in cancer. This review focuses on the contribution of the de novo cholesterol synthesis pathway to tumorigenesis, cancer progression and metastasis. In conclusion, cholesterol metabolism could be an effective target for novel anticancer treatment. Key words: metabolic reprogramming, de novo cholesterol synthesis, cancer progress Introduction Over the past few decades, numerous published that cholesterol plays a critical role in cancer studies have focused on cancer cell metabolism and progression15-19.