Macrophage Metabolism at the Crossroad of Metabolic Diseases and Cancer

Abstract

The increased incidence of cancer has been attributed to raised numbers of individuals with obesity/overweight worldwide. Different types of cancers in obese individuals have poor prognosis, high remission rate and resistance to traditional therapies. Literature has identified that lipid metabolism in lipid-laden immune cells, including macrophages, abrogates anti-tumoral responses. In this review we highlight the main metabolic features observed in macrophages in obesity and cancer, and discuss how metabolic changes during metabolic diseases elicits a phenotype in macrophages that could promote malignant progression. This perspective could support new diagnosis and treatment strategies for cancer patients in immunometabolic predisposed condition.