Research Progress in Ferroptosis for Digestive Carcinoma

Cell death plays a significant role in the survival and development of individual. It includes necrosis and apoptosis, which are the two most common forms of cell death. As more and more researches progress, some findings can’t be explained by apoptosis. Nowadays, some researchers have found that some antitumor drugs developed against apoptosis exist apoptosis escape and chemotherapy tolerance. So, is there any other form of cell death to overcome the resistance of tumor cells? Camptothecin (CPT) can induce apoptotic cell death, which is characterized by nuclear pyknosis and karyorhexis. Dolma et al. [1] found no similar morphological changes in erastin-treated cells. Therefore, erastininduced cell death is considered a nonapoptotic cell death. Soon afterwards, Yang et al. [2] and Yagoda et al. [3] found that this form of cell death can be suppressed by iron chelators, accompanied by an increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species. In 2012, Dixion et al. [4] named this new form of cell death as ferroptosis, which is characterized by ferric ion involved and is different from apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy. The discovery of ferroptosis provides an imaginative space for the treatment of tumors and overcoming drug resistance, opens new avenues for the development of new drugs. This review summarizes the research progress of ferroptosis in digestive system tumors.