Application of ferroptosis in the tertiary prevention of colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignancy of the digestive system. Although multimodal treatment strategies have effectively prolonged patient survival, the prognosis of patients with advanced disease remains poor. Therefore, standardizing tertiary prevention of CRC is of great importance. The tertiary prevention strategies for CRC include: primary cause prevention, secondary early prevention, and tertiary clinical prevention. Ferroptosis, a new form of cell death characterized by the accumulation of intracellular iron ions and abnormal aggregation of lipid peroxides, has been exploited in the development of molecular targeted therapies for a variety of common cancers, including CRC. Therefore, investigating the regulatory mechanisms of ferroptosis in CRC and exploring its theoretical basis and emerging strategies within the framework of tertiary prevention can provide additional decision-making tools for cancer prevention and treatment.