Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are potential drug targets for cancer therapy.

Peroxisome-proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are nuclear hormone receptors including PPARα, PPARδ and PPARγ, which play an important role in regulating cancer cell proliferation, survival, apoptosis, and tumor growth. Activation of PPARs by endogenous or synthetic compounds regulates tumor progression in various tissues. Although each PPAR isotype suppresses or promotes tumor development depending on the specific tissues or ligands, the mechanism is still unclear. In this review, we summarized the regulative mechanism of PPARs on cancer progression.