Ferroptosis is a distinct lipid peroxidation-dependent form of necrotic cell death. This process has been increasingly contemplated as a new target for cancer therapy because of an intrinsic or acquired ferroptosis vulnerability in difficult-to-treat cancers and tumour microenvironments. Here we review recent advances in our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie ferroptosis and highlight available tools for the modulation of ferroptosis sensitivity in cancer cells and communication with immune cells within the tumour microenvironment. We further discuss how these new insights into ferroptosis-activating pathways can become new armouries in the fight against cancer.

铁死亡是一种独特的脂质过氧化依赖性坏死细胞死亡形式。由于难以治疗的癌症和肿瘤微环境中固有的或获得性的铁死亡脆弱性，这一过程越来越多地被认为是癌症治疗的新靶点。在这里，我们回顾了对铁死亡分子机制理解的最新进展，并重点介绍了调节癌细胞铁死亡敏感性以及与肿瘤微环境中免疫细胞通讯的可用工具。我们进一步讨论这些对铁死亡激活途径的新见解如何成为抗击癌症的新武器。