Induction and application of ferroptosis in cancer therapy

Abstract At present, more than one cell death pathways have been found, one of which is ferroptosis. Ferroptosis was discovered in 2012 and described as an iron-dependent and lipid peroxidation-driven regulated cell death pathway. In the past few years, ferroptosis has been shown to induce tumor cell death, providing new ideas for tumor treatment. In this article, we summarize the latest advances in ferroptosis-induced tumor therapy at the intersection of tumor biology, molecular biology, redox biology, and materials chemistry. First, we state the characteristics of ferroptosis in cells, then introduce the key molecular mechanism of ferroptosis, and describes the relationship between ferroptosis and oxidative stress signaling pathways. Finally, we focused on several types of ferroptosis inducers discovered by scholars, and the application of ferroptosis in systemic chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and nanomedicine, in the hope that ferroptosis can exert its potential in the treatment of tumors.