胆固醇是一种重要的膜成分，胆固醇的代谢物发挥着重要的生物学功能，可以复杂地支持癌症进展并抑制免疫反应。临床前和临床研究已经证明胆固醇代谢调节在抑制肿瘤生长、重塑免疫抑制肿瘤微环境（TME）、增强抗肿瘤免疫力方面的作用。在这篇小综述中，我们讨论了肿瘤中复杂的胆固醇代谢、其在癌症进展中的重要作用及其对 TME 中免疫细胞的影响。我们概述了通过调节胆固醇代谢来治疗癌症的最新进展。我们讨论了改变胆固醇的多功能纳米材料的设计，以调节氧化应激、调节免疫检查点、操纵机械应激反应和改变胆固醇代谢途径。此外，我们还研究了胆固醇代谢调节与既定癌症治疗之间的相互作用，目的是确定破坏胆固醇代谢的有效策略和有效癌症治疗的协同联合疗法。© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH。

Cholesterol is an essential membrane component, and the metabolites from cholesterol play important biological functions to intricately support cancer progression and dampen immune responses. Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated the role of cholesterol metabolism regulation on inhibiting tumor growth, remodeling the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), and enhancing anti-tumor immunity. In this minireview, we discuss complex cholesterol metabolism in tumors, its important role in cancer progression, and its influences on immune cells in the TME. We provide an overview of recent advances in cancer treatment through regulating cholesterol metabolism. We discuss the design of cholesterol-altering multifunctional nanomaterials to regulate oxidative stress, modulate immune checkpoints, manipulate mechanical stress responses, and alter cholesterol metabolic pathways. Additionally, we examine the interactions between cholesterol metabolism regulation and established cancer treatments with the aim of identifying efficient strategies to disrupt cholesterol metabolism and synergistic combination therapies for effective cancer treatment.© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.