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Updated: Jul 1, 2026
Utilizing 18F-FDG PET/CT Imaging and Quantitative Histology to Measure Dynamic Changes in the Glucose Metabolism in Mouse Models of Lung Cancer
Published on: July 21, 2018
Glucose avidity of carcinomas
Alvaro D Ortega1, María Sánchez-Aragó, Daniel Giner-Sánchez
1Departamento de Biología Molecular, Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), ISCIII, Madrid, Spain.
Cancer cells exhibit a high avidity for glucose, driven by metabolic reprogramming. This "seventh hallmark" involves enhanced glycolysis and impaired mitochondria, offering new therapeutic targets for cancer treatment.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Cellular Metabolism
- Biochemistry
Background:
- The established hallmarks of cancer do not fully encompass the metabolic reprogramming characteristic of cancer cells.
- Cancer cells exhibit a distinct metabolic phenotype, notably high glucose uptake and utilization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose metabolic reprogramming as a seventh hallmark of cancer.
- To highlight the role of glucose metabolism and mitochondrial function in cancer progression.
- To explore the therapeutic potential of targeting cancer cell metabolism.
Main Methods:
- Review and summarization of metabolic pathways involved in glucose utilization.
- Analysis of molecular and functional evidence for high glucose uptake and aerobic glycolysis.
- Overview of evidence supporting impaired mitochondrial function in cancer cells.
- Application of a proteomic approach to assess the bioenergetic signature of cancer.
Main Results:
- Cancer cells display a high avidity for glucose, utilizing it for both energy and biosynthesis.
- Aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect) is a key feature, linked to oncogenes and tumor suppressors.
- Mitochondrial impairment in cancer cells supports the Warburg hypothesis.
- A bioenergetic signature can molecularly and functionally characterize cancer's metabolic phenotype.
Conclusions:
- Metabolic reprogramming, particularly enhanced glycolysis and mitochondrial dysfunction, represents a crucial hallmark of cancer.
- This metabolic phenotype provides essential precursors and energy for rapid cell proliferation.
- Targeting cancer cell metabolism, including the bioenergetic signature, offers promising therapeutic strategies.
- Repressed mitochondrial activity contributes to cancer cell survival and resistance to cell death, promoting malignant growth.
