Research results have shown that fat grafting, which was performed for cosmetic purposes, can be used as a new cancer treatment method.
By transplanting fat with a high energy metabolism, this method prevents the supply of nutrients necessary for the growth of cancer cells. Since fat grafting has already been verified for safety in the cosmetic market, there is growing expectation that it can be safely performed on actual cancer patients.
A research team led by Nadav Ahituv, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), announced on 4th that they confirmed the inhibitory effect on the growth of five types of cancer, including colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer, by transplanting "beige fat" in the international journal "Nature Biotechnology."
"Beige fat" is referred to as the third type of fat cells present in the human body, following white fat and brown fat. White fat is the fat that stores energy, commonly known, and is categorized as harmful fat as it is known to cause metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
In contrast, brown fat serves to break down glucose and fatty acids to generate heat energy. Instead of storing energy, it plays a role in consuming energy. However, the brown fat that humans possessed as newborns gradually disappears as they grow. It is known that in adulthood, the proportion of brown fat decreases to 0.1-0.5% of body weight.
"Beige fat" is created by the transformation of white fat under special conditions, such as in low temperatures. It performs a role like brown fat by consuming energy to produce heat energy. Beige fat can replace the role of brown fat, which disappears in adulthood, drawing attention from the medical and scientific communities.
The research team came up with the idea of inhibiting cancer cell growth by utilizing the energy metabolism capacity of beige fat. Cancer cells use a colossal amount of energy to proliferate infinitely. For instance, if the energy available to cancer cells decreases, their growth can be inhibited.
The research team confirmed the inhibitory effect on cancer cell growth by raising mice with transplanted cancer cells in an environment of 4 degrees Celsius in 2022. After raising the mice for 20 days, they compared the growth rate of cancer cells with those in a normal temperature of 22 degrees Celsius, confirming an approximate 80% inhibitory effect on cancer cell growth. The research team analyzed that the reduction in energy supply to cancer cells occurred as white fat transformed into beige fat in the low-temperature environment, demonstrating an anticancer effect.
However, low-temperature therapy cannot be used on actual cancer patients. The research team studied a method of transplanting white fat transformed into beige fat through gene editing. They first found that they could activate the UCP1 gene in white fat using CRISPR gene scissors to create beige fat. The beige fat produced through gene editing was cultured with various types of cancer cells to confirm the extent of growth inhibition.
As a result, the growth inhibitory effect was confirmed in breast cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer among the cancer cells cultured with beige fat. The research team noted, "The energy metabolism of beige fat is so strong that the growth rate of cancer cells decreased," adding, "The effect was observed even when the beige fat and cancer cells were apart from each other."
This effect was replicated in animal experiments. The research team created mini-organs (organoids) of cancer cells and beige fat to transplant into mice. Beige fat strengthened the metabolism of nutrients required for cancer cell growth, maximizing the cancer suppression effect. As a result, similar to cell experiments, the growth of cancer cells was inhibited, confirming the anticancer effect.
The research team expects that they can develop a cancer treatment method that reduces side effects while enhancing effectiveness through fat grafting. Using fat harvested from patients results in minimal side effects. Necessary functions can be enhanced through gene editing. Since fat grafting is already a procedure actively performed in the cosmetic market, its safety has been proven.
Professor Ahituv noted, "Fat grafting can also be utilized in specialized cancer treatments, such as brain cancer, where it is difficult to approach cancer cells," adding that it can also enhance insulin release or regulate blood iron levels, making it applicable to the treatment of various diseases.
Reference materials
Nature Biotechnology (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-024-02551-2
Nature (2022), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05030-3