Fig. 13.

Cancer cells are metabolic opportunists. Differentiated or quiescent cells need a higher proportion of ATP than building blocks for nucleic acids, proteins and lipids. Therefore, they rely on the more energetically favorable oxidative phosphorylation. Cancer cells need to balance their need for ATP with the requirement to duplicate the cellular contents before dividing and maintain NADPH levels for reductive biosynthesis and to counter oxidative stress. Tapping into multiple metabolic pathways provides a better balance of ATP and precursors for growth. These pathways include aerobic glycolysis and glutaminolysis.

Adapted by permission from the American Association for Cancer Research: Cantor JR and Sabatini DM, cancer cell metabolism: one hallmark, many faces. Cancer Discov., 2012, 2:881-898; doi:10.1158/2159-8290.CD-12-0345.