Stearoyl CoA Desaturase Regulates Ferroptosis in Ovarian Cancer Offering New Therapeutic Perspectives

Better therapies are urgently needed for ovarian cancer, which is associated with an overall median survival of less than 5 years from diagnosis. In this issue of Cancer Research, Tesfay and colleagues show that stearoyl CoA desaturase (SCD1) is expressed at high levels in different isotypes of ovarian cancer and that SCD1 protects ovarian cancer cells from cell death. Pharmaceutical inhibition of SCD1 induces apoptosis and ferroptosis in vitro and in vivo. Combination therapies of SCD1 inhibitors and ferroptosis inducers significantly decrease ovarian tumor masses in mice. This novel therapy may prove useful to treat women with ovarian cancer. See related article by Tesfay et al., p. 5355