Is the Warburg Effect the Cause or the Effect of Cancer: A 21st Century View?

Is the Warburg Effect the Cause or the Effect of Cancer: A 21st Century View?

Author: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP  

A Critical Review

What is the Warburg effect?

“Warburg Effect” describes the preference of glycolysis and lactate fermentation rather than oxidative phosphorylation for energy production in cancer cells. Mitochondrial metabolism is an important and necessary component in the functioning and maintenance of the organelle, and accumulating evidence suggests that dysfunction of mitochondrial metabolism plays a role in cancer. Progress has demonstrated the mechanisms of the mitochondrial metabolism-to-glycolysis switch in cancer development and how to target this metabolic switch.
In vertebrates, food is digested and supplied to cells mainly in the form of glucose. Glucose is broken down further to make Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) by two pathways. One is via anaerobic metabolism occurring in the cytoplasm, also known as glycolysis. The major physiological significance of glycolysis lies in making ATP…