How to starve cancer cells when nutrients are abundant

Abstract

Metabolic flexibility represents a potential point of attack for novel cancer treatments. We recently described the signaling mechanism inducing a metabolic shift in response to metformin and phenformin in leukemia and lymphoma cells. Enhanced glucose utilization was critically dependent on mitochondrial stress signaling/hypoxia-inducible factor-1α representing a therapeutic vulnerability.

Keywords

• metformin
• phenformin
• mitochondria
• hif-1a
• metabolic flexibility