[메디칼업저버 박선혜 기자] A Korean research team confirmed that cancer cell energy metabolism is absolutely dependent on fatty acids. It is expected that this study will change the cancer research paradigm and open the door to a new anticancer strategy.
The cancer metabolism research team at the National Cancer Center (Ph. This result is attracting attention as it establishes a new concept for cancer cell-specific metabolism and lays the groundwork for the development of new anticancer drugs.
The research team confirmed that cancer cells use fatty acids exclusively and oxygen in mitochondria to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP), unlike normal cells, which mainly use glucose in the energy metabolism process.
It also proved that when fatty acids are blocked in the presence of glucose, ATP drops sharply and only cancer cells die. In addition, through an animal experiment using a mouse cancer model, it was found that cancer growth in the high-fat diet condition was five times higher than that in the low-fat diet (high-carbohydrate diet) condition in the same calorie-balanced diet.
This result was named the ‘Kim effect’ as a result of a study compared to the ‘Warburg effect’, which is the basis of cancer metabolism.
Although the Warburg effect, a theory underlying cancer metabolism, was limited to anabolic metabolism, this study found that cancer catabolic metabolism absolutely depends only on fatty acids, which is different from existing theories.
Dr. Su-yeol Kim (Chief Researcher, Department of Cancer Molecular Biology) said, “The results of this study, which proved that cancer cell metabolism is a mechanism different from that of normal cells, suggest that blocking fat burning has a clinical advantage in cancer treatment.” It will serve as a basis for breaking through the limits of
He added, “We are conducting additional research to enable clinical application in the future.
The results of this study were published in the latest issue of Seminars in Cancer Biology.
Meanwhile, the research team is preparing a clinical trial for an anticancer strategy that inhibits fatty acid oxidation in pancreatic cancer. In addition, he will be invited as an oral presenter to the Keystone Symposia to be held in the United States on the 5th of next month to reveal the results of this research and clinical research plans.