Regulatory factors and potential application of ferroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Ferroptosis is a new type of regulatory cell death and is the result of iron-dependent lipid peroxidation accumulation. In this process, a variety of inducers destroy the redox balance of cells, producing a large number of lipid peroxidation products, and eventually lead to cell death. In morphology, biochemistry, and genetics, ferroptosis is quite different from apoptosis, necrosis, autophagy, and other regulatory cell death processes. More and more studies show that the relationship between ferroptosis and cancer is extremely complex, and the induction of ferroptosis might become a new cancer treatment. This article reviews the regulatory factors of ferroptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and discusses the potential application of ferroptosis in the treatment of HCC.