Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Understanding its pathophysiology is essential for developing efficient strategies to treat this disease. Lipidome, the sum of total lipids, related enzymes, receptors and signaling pathways, plays crucial roles in multiple cellular processes, such as metabolism, energy storage, proliferation and apoptosis. Dysregulation of lipid metabolism and function contributes to the development of CRC, and can be used towards the evaluation of prognosis. The strategies targeting lipidome have been applied in clinical trails and showed promising results. Here we discuss recent advances in abnormal lipid metabolism in CRC, the mechanisms by which the lipidome regulates tumorigenesis and tumor progression, and suggest potential therapeutic targets for clinical trials.
Keywords: cholesterol; colorectal cancer; fatty acid; lipidome; metabolism.