Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) levels in serum of colorectal cancer patients: correlation with clinical outcomes

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Tumor Biology

Abstract

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) is a common phenotype to many kinds of human cancers, such as those of the breast, ovary, pancreas, prostate, colon, and so on. Increased FASN levels have been detected in the serum of the patients with breast and pancreatic cancers. The relationship between the FASN level in serum and the clinicopathological characteristics of colorectal cancer is investigated in this study. FASN levels in serum were examined with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 74 patients with colorectal cancer and 40 healthy persons. Pathological and clinical factors associated with FASN concentrations in serum were investigated and analyzed by statistical analysis. The FASN level in colorectal cancer patients’ serum is significantly higher than that in healthy persons’ serum. FASN levels in the serum of colorectal cancer patients are associated with tumor extent, lymph node metabasis status, distant metastasis, and tumor clinical stage. The 5-year overall survival rate and 5-year disease-free survival rate among patients with low FASN levels in serum are significantly higher than those among patients with high FASN levels in serum (log-rank P = 0.003). The high FASN level in serum is a promising independent predictor of colorectal cancers with advanced phases, late clinical stages, and shorter survival. These results suggest that FASN concentration in serum may be a potential and useful tumor marker.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Wakil SJ, Abu-Elheiga LA. Fatty acid metabolism: target for metabolic syndrome. J Lipid Res. 2009;50:138–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Kuhajda FP. Fatty acid synthase and cancer: new application of an old pathway. Cancer Res. 2006;66(12):5977–80.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Baron A, Migita T, Tang D, Loda M. Fatty acid synthase: a metabolic oncogene in prostate cancer? J Cell Biochem. 2004;91(1):47–53.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Alo PL, Visca P, Marci A, Mangoni A, Botti C, Di Tondo U. Expression of fatty acid synthase (FAS) as a predictor of recurrence in stage I breast carcinoma patients. Cancer. 1996;77:474–82.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Swinnen JV, Heemers H, Deboel L, Foufelle F, Heyns W, Verhoeven G. Stimulation of tumor-associated fatty acid synthase expression by growth factor activation of the sterol regulatory element-binding protein pathway. Oncogene. 2000;19:5173–81.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Little JL, Wheeler FB, Fels DR, Koumenis C, Kridel S. Inhibition of fatty acid synthase induces endoplasmic reticulum stress in tumor cells. J Cancer Res. 2007;67:1262–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Kuhajda FP. Fatty acid synthase and human cancer: new perspectives on its role in tumor biology. Nutrition. 2000;16(3):202–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Witkiewicz AK, Nguyen KH, Dasgupta A, Kennedy EP, Yeo CJ, Lisanti MP, et al. Co-expression of fatty acid synthase and caveolin-1 in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: implications for tumor progression and clinical outcome. Cell Cycle. 2008;7(19):3021–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Horiguchi A, Asano T, Asano T, Ito K, Sumitomo M, Hayakawa M. Fatty acid synthase over expression is an indicator of tumor aggressiveness and poor prognosis in renal cell carcinoma. J Urol. 2008;180(3):1137–40.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Silva SD, Cunha IW, Nishimoto IN, et al. Clinicopathological significance of ubiquitin-specific protease 2a (USP2a), fatty acid synthase (FASN), and ErbB2 expression in oral squamous cell carcinomas. Oral Oncol. 2009;02(004):1368–83.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Ogino S, Nosho K, Meyerhardt JA, et al. Cohort study of fatty acid synthase expression and patient survival in colon cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2008;26(35):5713–20.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Jensen V, Ladekarl M, Holm-Nielsen P, Melsen F, Scerensen FB. The prognostic value of oncogenic antigen 519 (OA-519) expression and proliferative activity detected by antibody MIB-1 in node-negative breast cancer. J Pathol. 1995;176:343–52.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Kuhajda FP, Jenner K, Wood FD, et al. Fatty acid synthesis: a potential selective target for antineoplastic therapy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1994;91:6379–83.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Huang PL, Zhu SN, Shi Lun L, et al. Inhibitor of fatty acid synthase induced apoptosis in human colonic cancer cells. World J Gastroenterol. 2000;6(2):295–7.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Huang CH, Tsai SJ, Wang YJ, Pan MH, Kao JY, Way TD. EGCG inhibits protein synthesis, lipogenesis, and cell cycle progression through activation of AMPK in p53 positive and negative human hepatoma cells. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2009;53(9):1156–65.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Wang Y, Kuhajda FP, Lori J, Sokoll, et al. Two-site ELISA for the quantitative determination of fatty acid synthase. Clin Chim Acta. 2001;304:107–15.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Wang Y, Kuhajda FP, Li JN, et al. Fatty acid synthase expression in human breast cancer cell culture supernatants and in breast cancer patients. Cancer Lett. 2001;167:99–104.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Walter K, Hong S-M, Nyhan S, et al. Serum fatty acid synthase as a marker of pancreatic neoplasia. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2009;18(9):2380–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Vazquez-Martin A, Fernandez-Real JM, Oliveras-Ferraros C, et al. Fatty acid synthase activity regulates HER2 extracellular domain shedding into the circulation of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer patients. Int J Oncology. 2009;35:1369–76.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Notarnicola M, Tutino V, Calvani M, et al. Serum levels of fatty acid synthase in colorectal cancer patients are associated with tumor stage. J Gastrointest Cancer. 2012;43:508–11.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Menendez JA, Lupu R. Fatty acid synthase and the lipogenic phenotype in cancer pathogenesis. Nat Rev Cancer. 2007;7:763–77.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Alli PM, Pinn ML, Jaffee EM, et al. Fatty acid synthase inhibitors are chemopreventive for mammary cancer in neu-N transgenic mice. Oncogene. 2005;24:39–46.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Kridel SJ, Axelrod F, Rozenkrantz N, et al. Orlistat is a novel inhibitor of fatty acid synthase with antitumor activity. Cancer Res. 2004;64:2070–5.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Relat J, Blancafort A, Oliveras G, et al. Different fatty acid metabolism effects of (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate and C75 in adenocarcinoma lung cancer. BMC Cancer. 2012;12:280.

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Menendez JA, Lupu R, Colomer R. Inhibition of tumor-associated fatty acid synthase hyperactivity induces synergistic chemosensitization of HER-2/neu-overexpressing human breast cancer cells to docetaxel (taxotere). Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2004;84:183–95.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81150028); the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (BK2012749); Science and Technology Planning Project of Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, China (201001102); and Medical Scientific Research Foundation of the Health Administration, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, China (Ykk09047).

Conflicts of interest

None

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School of Southeast University, Southeast University, DingjiaQiao 87, Nanjing, 210009, People’s Republic of China

    Qi-qiang Long & Pei-lin Huang

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southeast University, Zhongfu Road 1, Nanjing, 210003, People’s Republic of China

    Qi-qiang Long & Jie Qiu

  3. Department of Surgical Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southeast University, Zhongfu Road 1, Nanjing, 210003, People’s Republic of China

    Yong-xiang Yi

  4. Department of Imaging Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southeast University, Zhongfu Road 1, Nanjing, 210003, People’s Republic of China

    Chuan-jun Xu

Authors
  1. Qi-qiang Long
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yong-xiang Yi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jie Qiu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Chuan-jun Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Pei-lin Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Pei-lin Huang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Long, Qq., Yi, Yx., Qiu, J. et al. Fatty acid synthase (FASN) levels in serum of colorectal cancer patients: correlation with clinical outcomes. Tumor Biol. 35, 3855–3859 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-013-1510-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13277-013-1510-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation