OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES FOR TARGETING CANCER METABOLISM

Otto Warburg sparked the field of cancer metabolism in the 1920s through his observations that human and animal cancer tissues converted significant amounts of glucose to lactate with an elusive underlying mechanism. The discovery of oncogenes led to the notion that neoplasia results from deregulated cell division control with metabolism at the margin, standing by to support cell growth. Studies over the past several decades have linked oncogenes to the direct regulation of metabolism, such as the myelocytomatosis (MYC) oncogene, driving glycolysis and other central metabolic pathways, necessary for cell growth and proliferation. Deregulated oncogenic drive of metabolism renders tumor cells addicted to glucose and other nutrients, such that nutrient deprivation can trigger cancer cell death. The revelation of this addiction stimulated pharmaceutical companies to target metabolism for cancer therapy, but due to several failed clinical studies, this exuberance fizzled commercially. However, the transformative impact of cancer immunotherapy ushered in an interest in understanding the hostile metabolic tumor microenvironment that limits the function of anti-tumor T cells and clinical responses to immunotherapy. This interest drives the convergence of immunometabolism and cancer cell metabolism research to provide a richer understanding of tumor metabolic vulnerability. Herein, I discuss the historical and current context of opportunities and challenges to targeting cancer metabolism.