The Landscape of Cancer Metabolism as a Therapeutic Target
Kenji Ohshima
Abstract
Cancer cells reprogram their metabolism during progression to adapt to the tumor microenvironment, which is characterized by distinct differences in nutrient availability, oxygen concentrations, and acidity. This metabolic reprogramming can simultaneously create metabolic vulnerabilities unique to cancer cells, making cancer metabolism a promising therapeutic target. Since the clinical application of folate antimetabolites in the 1940s, numerous therapeutic strategies targeting cancer metabolism have been developed. In recent years, advancements in technologies such as metabolome analysis have facilitated the development of agents that more specifically target cancer cell metabolism. However, these newly developed agents often face challenges in demonstrating efficacy as monotherapies in clinical trials. Nevertheless, combination therapies, designed based on precise mechanistic insights and incorporating agents such as immune-checkpoint and signaling-pathway inhibitors, have shown promising efficacy. This review provides an overview of the current landscape of therapeutic strategies targeting cancer metabolism, with a particular focus on approaches targeting amino acid, fatty acid, and glucose metabolism in cancer cells.