Cancer Metabolism Brochure

Cancer cells generate a large proportion of their ATP by metabolizing glucose via aerobic glycolysis, as opposed to mostly through oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in normal cells. Malignant transformation and altered metabolism go hand in hand, because the rapid increase in proliferation places increased demand on metabolic processes that cannot be met by conventional cellular metabolism. Cancer requires three crucial metabolic adaptations for rapid cell proliferation and survival: increased ATP production to fuel their high energy needs; increased biosynthesis of the three major classes of cellular building blocks, that is proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids; and an adapted redox system to counteract the increase in oxidative stress.

Metabolic reprogramming has been recognized as a hallmark of cancer, owing to its fundamental role in enabling continued tumor growth and is known as the Warburg effect, after Otto Warburg who first described the phenomenon. Cancer metabolic reprogramming is associated with inactivation of tumor suppressor genes and activation of oncogenes, as well as with mutant enzyme (oncoenzyme) activity and the accumulation of tumorigenic metabolites (oncometabolites).

Our Cancer Metabolism Research Product Guide reviews some of the main areas in cancer metabolism research and lists over 150 products that can be used to investigate metabolic pathways including:

• Glycolysis
• Tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle
• Lipidogenesis
• 1C metabolism and nucleic acid synthesis
• Drivers of metabolic reprogramming
• pH and redox balance