Fatty Acid Synthase: Specific Target for Cancer Therapy

( Institute of
Materia Medica, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, the Chinese Academy
of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China)

Abstract
Fatty acids, the products of fatty acid synthesis, are essential components
and forms of energy for cancer growth. Compared to normal human tissues, many
common human cancers express elevated levels of fatty acid synthase (FAS),
the important enzyme responsible for the synthesis of fatty acid, suggesting
FAS can be a specific target for cancer therapy.