What is the Warburg Effect?
Discovered by Otto Warburg, this phenomenon describes how many cancer cells drastically alter their energy metabolism. Even when enough oxygen is available, they prefer an inefficient pathway for energy production, consuming a lot of sugar (glucose) and excreting lactic acid (lactate) as a waste product.
Healthy Cell (with Oxygen)
Uses glucose very efficiently to generate the maximum amount of energy.
Cancer Cell (with Oxygen)
Consumes much more glucose, but a large part is incompletely fermented to lactate.
Why this Wastefulness?
This seemingly wasteful metabolism has a crucial advantage for the cancer cell: it's not just about energy, but primarily about **building materials**. The accelerated breakdown of glucose provides the necessary building blocks (like lipids, nucleotides, amino acids) for the cell to divide and grow rapidly.
The metabolism is reprogrammed for rapid growth and proliferation, not for maximum energy efficiency.
Key Takeaways on the Warburg Effect
Building Blocks over Energy
The primary reason is the rapid supply of building blocks for new cells.
Cause or Consequence?
Warburg's original hypothesis, that this is the *cause* of cancer, is now considered outdated. It's more of a characteristic.
Therapeutic Target
The altered metabolism is a promising target for modern cancer research and therapy.
