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.Despite extensive efforts, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Approximately 9.6 million people died from cancer in 2018 (1). Developing new and improved treatment strategies to combat the disease is, therefore, of paramount importance.Cancer cells, contrary to normal cells, are characterized by uncontrolled proliferation and being invasive and metastasizing. Cancer cells accordingly alter and up-regulate 2737 This article is freely accessible online.

Eupatilin Suppresses Pancreatic Cancer Cells via Glucose Uptake Inhibition, AMPK Activation, and Cell Cycle Arrest

“…This result suggests that eupatilin can rapidly and powerfully decrease glucose uptake by MIA-PaCa2 cells and significantly affect cancer cells, since they use glucose as a primary energy source (Warburg effect). It is known that higher blood glucose levels are associated with shorter overall and disease-free survival, and higher risk of distant metastasis (34). Based on these facts, the idea of glucose restriction during chemotherapy was proposed (35).…”

The impact of metabolic supply lines ‑ and the patterns between them‑on the development of distant metastases in 64 women with breast cancer

“…crucial to the malignant processes and prevents compensation from occurring (3). Thus, the aim should be to target the metabolic supply line patterns underlying the processes essential to malignancy, for instance uncontrolled proliferation, metastasis development etc., as this would in theory compromise the delivery of the most basal components required to exert these processes.…”

“…Thus, the aim should be to target the metabolic supply line patterns underlying the processes essential to malignancy, for instance uncontrolled proliferation, metastasis development etc., as this would in theory compromise the delivery of the most basal components required to exert these processes. A key aspect in this strategy is that it targets the thermodynamic foundation which enables the activities that 'make a cancer a cancer' (3).…”

“…-any component participating in the concerned metabolic processes. The blood circulation constitutes the principal supply lines for these building materials, and targeting these metabolic supply lines, practically defined as the availability of the specific building materials in the blood, could therefore carry treatment potential (3).…”