Metabolic switch in cancer- Survival of the fittest

Cell metabolism is characterised by the highly coordinated conversion of nutrients into energy and biomass. In solid cancers, hypoxia, nutrient deficiencies, and tumour vascula-ture are incompatible with accelerated anabolic growth and require a rewiring of cancer cell metabolism. Driver gene mutations direct malignant cells away from oxidation to maximise energy production and biosynthesis while tumour-secreted factors degrade peripheral tissues to fuel disease progression and initiate metastasis.As it is vital to understand cancer cell metabolism and survival mechanisms, this review dis-cusses the metabolic switch and current drug targets and clinical trials.In the future, metabolic markers may be included when phenotyping individual tumours to improve the therapeutic opportunities for personalised therapy.(c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

Cell metabolism involves the conversion of nutrients into energy and biomass. In solid cancers, the metabolic switch occurs due to hypoxia, nutrient deficiencies, and abnormal tumor vasculature. Driver gene mutations redirect cancer cells towards maximizing energy production and biosynthesis, while tumor-secreted factors degrade peripheral tissues to fuel disease progression and metastasis. Understanding cancer cell metabolism and identifying drug targets are crucial for personalized therapy.