Ferroptosis is a newly defined form of regulated cell death (RCD) characterized by iron overload, lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, and lipid peroxidation, which is different from necrosis, apoptosis, autophagy and other forms of RCD in morphology, biochemistry, function and gene expression. Increasing evidence has shown that ferroptosis is intimately associated with cancer initiation, progression, and suppression. In this review, we summarize the primary mechanisms and signal pathways relevant to ferroptosis and then discuss the potential roles of ferroptosis in cancer, including those related to p53, noncoding RNA (ncRNA), and the tumor microenvironment (TME), to demonstrate the associations between ferroptosis and cancer. Moreover, we list some ferroptosis-based cancer therapies, such as clinical drugs, nanomaterials, exosomes and gene technology, based on previous studies. Finally, we propose some development avenues, challenges, and opportunities for further research on ferroptosis.

铁死亡是一种新定义的调节性细胞死亡 (RCD) 形式，其特征是铁过载、脂质活性氧 (ROS) 积累和脂质过氧化，在形态学、生物化学、功能和基因表达。越来越多的证据表明，铁死亡与癌症的发生、进展和抑制密切相关。在这篇综述中，我们总结了与铁死亡相关的主要机制和信号通路，然后讨论了铁死亡在癌症中的潜在作用，包括与 p53、非编码 RNA (ncRNA) 和肿瘤微环境 (TME) 相关的那些，以证明这些关联介于铁死亡和癌症之间。此外，我们列出了一些基于铁死亡的癌症疗法，例如临床药物、纳米材料、外泌体和基因技术，基于之前的研究。最后，我们为进一步研究铁死亡提出了一些发展途径、挑战和机遇。