Oncogenic alterations of metabolism and the Warburg effect

A diverse group of cancer cells convert glucose to lactic acid even when oxygen is ample. This phenomenon is termed the Warburg effect or aerobic glycolysis, which contrasts with the anaerobic glycolysis that occurs as a normal adaptive response to hypoxia. The current debate on aerobic glycolysis centers on whether it results only from an adaptive response to hypoxia or from cell autonomous oncogenic alterations that induce glycolysis. Recent studies suggest that adaptive responses through the induction of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) and cell autonomous changes that affect the level of HIF-1 or activation of the AKT or MYC oncogenes could all contribute to the aerobic glycolytic cancer phenotype.