How do cancer cells use glucose to grow on their own?

Mondo Health Updated on 2024-01-19

There are two main ways cancer cells use glucose to grow on their own

Energy through glycolysis: Cancer cells are highly metabolized and need a lot of energy to maintain their growth and proliferation. Due to the rapid proliferation of cancer cells, they grow faster than the blood**, resulting in a lack of oxygen in the environment in which the cancer cells grow. In a hypoxic environment, cancer cells initiate glycolytic metabolism to convert glucose into energy. This is the main way cancer cells get their energy.

Uptake of glucose through glycotransporters: There are genetic mutations in cancer cells that promote glucose uptake and utilization by cancer cells. For example, some cancer cells take up more glucose by expressing high glycotransporters (e.g., glut1, etc.) to meet their rapid** energy needs.

Finding the AI Writer Program As a result, glucose is an important "food" for cancer cells, which ingest and utilize glucose through unique metabolic patterns and genetic mutations to meet their fast** energy needs. That's why, in cancer, glucose-restricting can inhibit cancer cell proliferation.

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