Zhang C, Wang H, Yang YH. Lipid metabolism in pancreatic cancer treatment. World J Clin Oncol 2026; 17(2): 114959 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i2.114959]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Yan-Hui Yang, MD, Associate Professor, Chief, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, No. 24 Jinghua Road, Luoyang 471003, Henan Province, China. yangyanhui63@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. Feb 24, 2026; 17(2): 114959 Published online Feb 24, 2026. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v17.i2.114959
Lipid metabolism in pancreatic cancer treatment
Chi Zhang, Hao Wang, Yan-Hui Yang
Chi Zhang, Hao Wang, Yan-Hui Yang, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471003, Henan Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang C wrote the original draft; Zhang C and Wang H contributed to conceptualization, writing, reviewing and editing; Wang H and Yang YH participated in drafting the manuscript; and all authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Yan-Hui Yang, MD, Associate Professor, Chief, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, and College of Clinical Medicine of Henan University of Science and Technology, No. 24 Jinghua Road, Luoyang 471003, Henan Province, China. yangyanhui63@163.com
Received: October 10, 2025 Revised: December 1, 2025 Accepted: January 13, 2026 Published online: February 24, 2026 Processing time: 126 Days and 20.4 Hours
Abstract
Pancreatic cancer (PC) represents one of the most formidable challenges in oncology, necessitating continuous innovation in therapeutic strategies. Owing to its pivotal role in PC progression, lipid metabolism, which is characterized by dysregulated cholesterol biosynthesis, altered fatty acid profiles, and lipid-driven immunosuppression, has received increasing attention. These metabolic aberrations fuel tumour growth, chemoresistance, and metastasis while impairing immune surveillance. By targeting lipid pathways, emerging therapies hold promise for disrupting cancer cell survival and redefining PC treatment paradigms.
Core Tip: This article highlights lipid metabolism reprogramming as a key driver of pancreatic cancer progression, inducing growth, metastasis, and immunosuppression. Targeting enzymes such as fatty acid synthase or cholesterol pathways shows promise in overcoming therapy resistance, offering innovative strategies to reshape treatment paradigms.
