Zeitschrift für Integrative Onkologie

Cancer Metabolism Associated With Mitochondrial Biosynthetic

Abstract

Gordon

The evolution of respiration has equipped us with an incredible advantage. The oxidative breakdown of glucose, the fuel in bioenergetics, yields 36–38 molecules of ATP per molecule of glucose, as against 4–6 molecules of ATP resulting from glycolysis. Initially, it seemed paradoxical that tumors, which require more energy than healthy cells thanks to their rapid proliferation, would preferentially engage the much less efficient glycolytic energy production. Two fundamental questions got to be addressed to know this Warburg effect (aerobic glycolysis). What causes it and what are its consequences?