The Metabolic Landscape of Prostate Cancer

Neoplastic cells are characterized by metabolic alterations that sustain tumor growth. Interventions aimed at modifying metabolic rewiring of cancer cells are currently being investigated in several tumor types, including prostate cancer (PC).

To review relevant metabolic alterations reported for PC and potential diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities that could be exploited on the basis of these discoveries.

We performed a review of PubMed/Medline in March 2018 for PC in association with each of the following search terms: metabolomics; lipid, cholesterol, one-carbon, amino acid, and glucose metabolism. Fifty publications were selected for inclusion in this analysis.

The reports included were grouped according to fatty acid and cholesterol metabolism (28 studies); one-carbon metabolism (9 studies); amino acid metabolism (6 studies); and glucose metabolism (7 studies). We report on multiple metabolic pathways that are dysregulated in prostate cancer. Metabolic alterations can result in at least one of the following changes: protein lipidation, oncogene activation, DNA methylation, cellular signaling, and protein-protein interactions.

Metabolic alterations play a crucial role in PC development, progression, and resistance to therapy. Increasing knowledge of metabolic rewiring is revealing novel metabolic signatures in PC. These signatures could be utilized for PC diagnosis, as well as for the discovery of novel therapeutic interventions to overcome castration resistance.

Metabolic alterations play a crucial role in the development and progression of prostate cancer and its resistance to therapy. Our knowledge of metabolic rewiring is increasing and revealing novel metabolic signatures in prostate cancer. These signatures could be used for diagnosis and for the discovery of novel therapeutic interventions aimed at overcoming castration resistance.