Wafa Khan1, Dominic Augustine1, Roopa S Rao1, Shankargouda Patil2, Kamran Habib Awan3, Samudrala Venkatesiah Sowmya1, Vanishri C Haragannavar1, Kavitha Prasad4
1Department of Oral Pathology and Microbiology, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
2Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia
3College of Dental Medicine, Roseman University of Health Sciences, South Jordan, Utah, United States
4Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dental Sciences, M.S. Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
DOI: 10.4103/jcar.JCar_15_20
ABSTRACT
Preclinical studies and clinical trials have emphasized the decisive role of lipid metabolism in tumor proliferation and metastasis. This systematic review aimed to explore the existing literature to evaluate the role and significance of the genes and pathways most commonly involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism in cancer. The literature search was performed as per Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses. Approximately 2396 research articles were initially selected, of which 215 were identified as potentially relevant for abstract review. Upon further scrutiny, 62 of the 215 studies were reviews, seminars, or presentations, and 44 were original study articles and were thus included in the systematic review. The predominant gene involved in lipid metabolism in cancer was stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1 (SCD1), followed by fatty acid synthase (FASN). The pathway most commonly involved in lipid metabolism in cancer was the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) signaling pathway, followed by the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. SCD1 and FASN play significant roles in the initiation and progression of cancer and represent attractive targets for potentially effective anti-cancer treatment strategies. The regulation of cancer metabolism by the Akt kinases will be an interesting topic of future study.
Keywords: Akt, fatty acid synthase, lipid metabolism, oral cancer, PI3K, signaling pathways, stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase