Altered networks of gene regulation underlie many pathologies, including
cancer. There are several
proteins in
cancer cells that are turned either on or off, which dramatically alters the metabolism and the overall activity of the cell, with the complex machinery of
enzymes involved in the metabolism of
glycolipids not being an exception. The aberrant glycosylation of
glycolipids on the surface of the majority of
cancer cells, associated with increasing evidence about the functional role of these molecules in a number of cellular physiological pathways, has received considerable attention as a convenient immunotherapeutic target for
cancer treatment. This has resulted in the development of a substantial number of passive and active immunotherapies, which have shown promising results in clinical trials. More recently,
antibodies to
glycolipids have also emerged as an attractive tool for the targeted delivery of
cytotoxic agents, thereby providing a rationale for future therapeutic interventions in
cancer. This review first summarizes the cellular and molecular bases involved in the metabolic pathway and expression of
glycolipids, both in normal and
tumor cells, paying particular attention to sialosylated
glycolipids (
gangliosides). The current strategies in the battle against
cancer in which
glycolipids are key players are then described.