Adipo-oncology: adipocyte-derived factors govern engraftment, survival, and progression of metastatic cancers

Sep 21, 2026

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Conventional treatments for metastatic cancers show limited efficacy, prompting interest in therapies that target noncancerous cells within tumor microenvironments. Adipocytes, widely distributed across the body, interact with metastatic cancer cells in many organs and secrete factors reported to influence engraftment, survival, and metastatic expansion. This review synthesizes adipocyte-secreted mediators, emphasizing adipokines such as adiponectin, leptin, visfatin, chemerin, resistin, apelin, and omentin, and links them to cancer migration, invasion, immune evasion, and drug resistance, proposing “adipo-oncology” as a research field.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Adipocytes in metastatic tumor microenvironment

Adipocyte-secreted factors and adipokines

Proposed framework: “adipo-oncology”

Clinical implications and mechanisms

Sato Cell Communication and Signaling (2024) 22:52 [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12964-024-01474-4](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12964-024-01474-4) Cell Communication and Signaling REVIEW Open Access Adipo-oncology: adipocyte-derived factors govern engraftment, survival, and progression of metastatic cancers Shinya Sato1,2,3* Abstract Conventional therapies for metastatic cancers have limited efficacy. Recently, cancer therapies targeting noncancerous cells in tumor microenvironments have shown improved clinical outcomes in patients. However, further advances in our understanding of the metastatic tumor microenvironment are required to improve treatment outcomes. Adipocytes are distributed throughout the body, and as a part of the metastatic tumor microenvironment, they interact with cancer cells in almost all organs. Adipocytes secrete various factors that are reported to exert clinical effects on cancer progression, including engraftment, survival, and expansion at the metastatic sites. However, only a few studies have comprehensively examined their impact on cancer cells. In this review, we examined the impact of adipocytes on cancer by describing the adipocyte-secreted factors that are involved in controlling metastatic cancer, focusing on adipokines, such as adiponectin, leptin, visfatin, chemerin, resistin, apelin, and omentin. Adipocyte-secreted factors promote cancer metastasis and contribute to various biological functions of cancer cells, including migration, invasion, proliferation, immune evasion, and drug resistance at the metastatic sites. We propose the establishment and expansion of “adipo-oncology” as a research field to enhance the comprehensive understanding ofthe role of adipocytes in metastatic cancers and the development of more robust metastatic cancer treatments. Keywords Adipocyte, Adipokines, Adipo-oncology, Tumor metastasis, Tumor microenvironment Introduction With the aging of society, the incidence of cancer is increasing worldwide, and cancer has become the leading cause of death, particularly in developed countries [1, 2]. To date, cancer therapies, including surgery, anticancer drugs, and radiation, have targeted cancer cells and have been effective to a certain extent. However, the *Correspondence: Shinya Sato[ssato53@gancen.asahi.yokohama.jp](ssato53@gancen.asahi.yokohama.jp) 1 Morphological Analysis Laboratory, Kanagawa Cancer Center Research Institute, 2-3-2, Asahi-Ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 241-8515, Japan 2 Molecular Pathology and Genetics Division, Kanagawa Cancer Center Research Institute, 2-3-2, Asahi-Ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 241-8515, Japan 3 Department of Pathology, Kanagawa Cancer Center Hospital, 2-3-2, Asahi-Ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 241-8515, Japan effectiveness of conventional therapies is limited, particularly in cases of metastatic cancers. In recent years, cancer therapies that target noncancerous cells within tumor microenvironments have emerged. Of these, the best-known are therapies targeting immune cells, such as immune checkpoint inhibitor-based therapies, which have markedly improved the outcomes of certain aggressive cancers, including melanoma [3–6] . Therapies targeting blood vessels are also becoming more common, and vascular-targeted therapies have been incorporated into the standard treatment regimens for some cancers [7–9] . Recently, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), another major host cell type, have been studied for targeted therapies [10] . However, even with the application of these nonneoplastic cell-targeting therapies, a complete cure for © The Author(s) 2024. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other

FAQs

Why are conventional metastatic cancer therapies less effective?

Conventional therapies target cancer cells but remain limited in effectiveness, especially for metastatic disease. Incomplete understanding of the surrounding tumor microenvironment also contributes to unmet outcomes.

What role do adipocytes play in metastatic cancer progression?

Adipocytes are a significant component of the metastatic tumor microenvironment and interact with cancer cells across most organs. Their secreted factors influence engraftment, survival, and expansion at metastatic sites.

Which adipocyte-derived factors are emphasized in this review?

The review focuses on adipocyte-secreted factors, particularly adipokines, including adiponectin, leptin, visfatin, chemerin, resistin, apelin, and omentin. These mediators are linked to processes such as migration, invasion, immune evasion, and drug resistance.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Jiven