Which of the following is the source of nutrition for the cancer cells?
High-Yield Explanation
Cancer cells exhibit a high rate of aerobic glycolysis. Cancer cells take up large amounts of glucose and metabolize it to lactic acid, even in the presence of oxygen (the so-called Warburg effect). It is due to a defect in the respiratory chain, so that tumor cells compensated for this by producing more ATP glycolysis. Tumor cells have less mitochondria than normal cells and they contain a mitochondrial-bound isozyme of hexokinase (HK-2) that is not subject to feedback control, allowing increased uptake of glucose. Ref: Murray R.K., Jacob M., Varghese J. (2011). Chapter 55. Cancer: An Overview. In D.A. Bender, K.M. Botham, P.A. Weil, P.J. Kennelly, R.K. Murray, V.W. Rodwell (Eds), Harper's Illustrated Biochemistry, 29e.