Insulin and cancer: a tangled web. Issue 5 (4th March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Leitner, Brooks P.; Siebel, Stephan; Akingbesote, Ngozi D.; Zhang, Xinyi; Perry, Rachel J.
• Is Part Of: Biochemical journal. Volume 479:Issue 5(2022)
• Page Start: 583
• Page End: 607
• Publication Date: 2022-03-04
• Subjects: cancer metabolism -- diabetes -- immunometabolism; Biochemistry -- Periodicals; 572
• DOI: 10.1042/BCJ20210134
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-6021

Abstract

Abstract : For a century, since the pioneering work of Otto Warburg, the interwoven relationship between metabolism and cancer has been appreciated. More recently, with obesity rates rising in the U.S. and worldwide, epidemiologic evidence has supported a link between obesity and cancer. A substantial body of work seeks to mechanistically unpack the association between obesity, altered metabolism, and cancer. Without question, these relationships are multifactorial and cannot be distilled to a single obesity- and metabolism-altering hormone, substrate, or factor. However, it is important to understand the hormone-specific associations between metabolism and cancer. Here, we review the links between obesity, metabolic dysregulation, insulin, and cancer, with an emphasis on current investigational metabolic adjuncts to standard-of-care cancer treatment.