Targeting the Supply Lines of Cancer - A Possible Strategy for Combating the Disease?

Abstract

Cancer cells alter and up-regulate their metabolic activity in order to facilitate the increased demands of malignancy. This leads to an increased need for metabolic "building materials", for example glucose and amino acids. The blood circulation represents the principal supply lines delivering these materials. It, therefore, becomes relevant to investigate if these supply lines - in terms of the concentrations of building materials in the blood - may exhibit a therapeutic window and could be intervened, as they deliver the most basal components required to exert malignant functioning. A key aspect in this strategy is that it targets - in theory - the thermodynamic foundation enabling the activities that, essentially, "make a cancer a cancer". As an initial step, this review examines if the metabolic supply lines carry clinical implications; specifically, if they impact survival and the development of metastases in patients with cancer. Furthermore, it presents and discusses perspectives on potentially targeting these supply lines.

Keywords: Cancer; amino acids; glucose; metabolism; review; survival.