AKR1C3 and cancer: Contrary to prior studies suggesting that AKR1C3 inhibits ferroptosis in cancer cells 20, our results revealed that AKR1C3 suppression significantly reduced cell death and intracellular ferrous ion levels in NPCs, while its upregulation had the opposite effect, highlighting the role of AKR1C3 in promoting NPC ferroptosis (Figure 4G-K).