Cancer Metabolism and Its Historical & Molecular Foundations: An Overview

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Cellular Metabolism
• Tumor Biology

Background:

• Cancer metabolism is fundamentally altered, with the Warburg effect (aerobic glycolysis) being a key observation.
• Historically attributed to mitochondrial defects, metabolic reprogramming is now understood as actively driven by oncogenes, tumor suppressors, and the tumor microenvironment (TME).

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a unifying framework for understanding cancer metabolism as a dynamic ecosystem.
• To explore the interconnected adaptations driving cancer progression and identify therapeutic strategies.

Main Methods:

• Literature review synthesizing current research on cancer metabolism.
• Framework development integrating metabolic plasticity, oncometabolite-driven epigenetics, and immune-metabolic crosstalk.

Main Results:

• Cancer metabolism is characterized by plasticity, epigenetic remodeling via oncometabolites, and immune-metabolic crosstalk.
• These adaptations support proliferation, survival, and metastasis, involving glycolysis, glutamine metabolism, lipid synthesis, and mitochondrial dynamics.

Conclusions:

• Despite new therapeutic avenues, clinical translation is hindered by metabolic redundancy, microenvironmental buffering, and patient heterogeneity.
• Promising strategies include metabolic inhibitors, dietary interventions, and immuno-metabolic combinations, guided by biomarkers and advanced technologies like spatial metabolomics and AI.