Altered cellular metabolism is a hallmark of cancer but the association between utilisation of particular metabolic pathways in tumours and patient outcome is poorly understood. We sought to investigate the association between fatty acid metabolism and outcome in breast and other cancers.
Cox regression analysis and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) of a gene expression dataset from primary breast tumours with well annotated clinical and survival information was used to identify genesets associated with outcome. A geneset representing fatty acid oxidation (FAO) was then examined in other datasets. A doxycycline-inducible breast cancer cell line model overexpressing the rate-limiting enzyme in FAO, carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1A (CPT1A) was generated and analysed to confirm the association between FAO and cancer-associated characteristics in vitro.
We identified a gene expression signature composed of 19 genes associated with fatty acid oxidation (FAO) that was significantly associated with patient outcome. We validated this observation in eight independent breast cancer datasets, and also observed the FAO signature to be prognostic in other cancer types. Furthermore, the FAO signature expression was significantly downregulated in tumours, compared to normal tissues from a variety of anatomic origins. In breast cancer, the expression of CPT1A was higher in oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive, compared to ER-negative tumours and cell lines. Importantly, overexpression of CPT1A significantly decreased the proliferation and wound healing migration rates of MDA-MB231 breast cancer cells, compared to basal expression control.
Our findings suggest that FAO is downregulated in multiple tumour types, and activation of this pathway may lower cancer cell proliferation, and is associated with improved outcomes in some cancers.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
4
5%
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine
1
1%
Other
8
10%
Unknown
31
40%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 08 November 2025.
All research outputs
#11,311,714
of 32,060,042 outputs
Outputs from BMC Cancer
#4,638
of 11,782 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#146,987
of 360,010 outputs
Outputs of similar age from BMC Cancer
#59
of 142 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 32,060,042 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 39th percentile – i.e., 39% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 11,782 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.2. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 51% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 142 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 50% of its contemporaries.
