Palmitic acid (PA) is a saturated fatty acid commonly found in coconut oil and palm oil. It serves as an energy source for the body and plays a role in the structure and function of cell membranes. Beyond its industrial applications, PA has gained attention for its potential therapeutic properties. Modern pharmacological studies have demonstrated that PA exhibits anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune-enhancing effects. In recent years, PA has emerged as a promising anti-tumor agent with demonstrated efficacy against various malignancies including gastric cancer, liver cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, and colorectal cancer. Its anti-tumor effects encompass inducing apoptosis in tumor cells, inhibiting tumor cell proliferation, suppressing metastasis and invasion, enhancing sensitivity to chemotherapy, and improving immune function. The main anticancer mechanism of palmitic acid (PA) involves the induction of cell apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway, facilitated by the promotion of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. PA also exhibits interference with the cancer cell cycle, leading to cell cycle arrest predominantly in the G1 phase. Moreover, PA induces programmed cell autophagy death, inhibits cell migration, invasion, and angiogenesis, and synergistically enhances the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs while reducing adverse reactions. PA acts on various intracellular and extracellular targets, modulating tumor cell signaling pathways, including the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt), endoplasmic reticulum (ER), B Cell Lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), P53, and other signaling pathways. Furthermore, derivatives of PA play a significant regulatory role in tumor resistance processes. This paper provides a comprehensive review of recent studies investigating the anti-tumor effects of PA. It summarizes the underlying mechanisms through which PA exerts its anti-tumor effects, aiming to inspire new perspectives for the treatment of malignant tumors in clinical settings and the development of novel anti-cancer drugs.

中文翻译：

---

棕榈酸及其衍生物在肿瘤进展中的分子机制

棕榈酸（PA）是一种常见于椰子油和棕榈油中的饱和脂肪酸。它作为身体的能量来源，并在细胞膜的结构和功能中发挥作用。除了工业应用之外，PA 还因其潜在的治疗特性而受到关注。现代药理研究表明，PA具有抗炎、抗氧化、增强免疫等作用。近年来，PA已成为一种有前景的抗肿瘤药物，对胃癌、肝癌、宫颈癌、乳腺癌和结直肠癌等多种恶性肿瘤具有疗效。其抗肿瘤作用包括诱导肿瘤细胞凋亡、抑制肿瘤细胞增殖、抑制转移和侵袭、增强化疗敏感性、改善免疫功能等。棕榈酸 (PA) 的主要抗癌机制涉及通过线粒体途径诱导细胞凋亡，并通过促进细胞内活性氧 (ROS) 的生成来促进细胞凋亡。PA 还表现出对癌细胞周期的干扰，导致细胞周期主要停滞在 G1 期。此外，PA还可诱导细胞程序性自噬死亡，抑制细胞迁移、侵袭和血管生成，协同增强化疗药物的疗效，同时减少不良反应。PA 作用于各种细胞内和细胞外靶点，调节肿瘤细胞信号传导通路，包括磷脂酰肌醇 3-激酶 (PI3K)/蛋白激酶 B (Akt)、内质网 (ER)、B 细胞淋巴瘤-2 (Bcl-2)、P53和其他信号通路。此外，PA衍生物在肿瘤抵抗过程中发挥着重要的调节作用。本文对 PA 抗肿瘤作用的最新研究进行了全面综述。总结了PA发挥抗肿瘤作用的潜在机制，旨在为临床治疗恶性肿瘤和新型抗癌药物的开发提供新的视角。