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Metabolic implication of tumor:stroma crosstalk in breast cancer

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Abstract

The metabolic properties of cancer cells significantly differ from those of normal cells. In particular, cancer cells are largely dependent on aerobic glycolysis, a phenomenon that has been exploited clinically by using labelled glucose for positron emission tomography imaging. Importantly, cancer-associated alterations in metabolism are not merely due to the resulting response to cell proliferation and survival. Indeed, direct metabolic regulation could be driven by tumor oncogenes and/or suppressors, as demonstrated in several solid tumors, including breast cancer. Despite the fact that most breast cancer studies have focused on the intrinsic characteristics of breast tumor cells, it is now widely accepted that tumor microenvironment plays an important role in defining and reprogramming cancer cell metabolism. Tumor:stroma crosstalk, as well as inflammatory cues, concurs to outlining the cancer metabolism, impact on cancer aggressiveness and ultimately on patient survival and therapeutic responses. The aim of this review is to (i) gather the most recent data regarding the metabolic alterations in breast cancer, (ii) describe the role of tumor microenvironment in breast cancer cell metabolic reprogramming, and (iii) contemplate how targeting metabolic pathways aberrantly activated in breast cancer could help current therapeutic regimens.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are funded by the “Fondazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro” (FIRC) (AM) and by the “Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro” (AIRC), “Istituto Toscano Tumori,” and “FESR-PorCreo 2012” (PC).

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, viale GB Morgagni 50, Florence, I-50134, Italy

    Andrea Morandi & Paola Chiarugi

  2. Tuscany Tumor Institute (ITT) and Excellence Centre for Research, Transfer and High Education DenoTHE, Florence, Italy

    Paola Chiarugi

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  1. Andrea Morandi
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  2. Paola Chiarugi
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Correspondence to Paola Chiarugi.

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Morandi, A., Chiarugi, P. Metabolic implication of tumor:stroma crosstalk in breast cancer. J Mol Med 92, 117–126 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-014-1124-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00109-014-1124-7

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