Fig. 1. Metabolic competition in the micro-environment determines tumor outcome.

Tumors cells and effector T cells share dependencies for glucose, glutamine, tryptophan, or arginine. a Tumor cells, by their extensive need of glucose, glutamine, tryptophan of arginine will impoverish the tumor area. This resource consumption from tumor cells will directly impact CD8 T cell metabolism leading to exhausted phenotype and indirectly, through metabolite secretion like for example lactate, stimulate the development of an immunosuppressive tumor micro-environment. b At the opposite, if tumor cells have moderate metabolic demand, due to intrinsic characteristics or therapeutic manipulations, a fully functional anti-tumor immune response will mediated tumor elimination.