Question

#1. Stage 3 to 4 cancer cells are vicious in that they use up most glucose in the body leaving normal cells to starve and die. Why is that so?

A) Cancer cells are more efficient in converting glucose to ATP whereas normal cells are inefficient at this task leaving them disadvantaged

B) Normal cells don’t like to make ATP from glucose whereas cancer cells do

C) Advanced cancer cells are highly metabolic and use up excess glucose in glycolytic process hence leaving normal cells with little glucose for ATP synthesis
D) Cancer cells prefer to make ATP from glycolysis which is more efficient than ETC E) None of these options are correct.

Please help and explain. Thank you!

Answer 1

Option C) since cancer cells are upregulated for aerobic glycolysis.

Cancer cells need high amount of energy for their rapid spread and multiplication, thus they channel glucose for aerobic glycolysis (glucose to lactate conversion even in presence of oxygen) rather than using for oxidative phosphorylation (glucose to pyruvate conversion).Stage 3 and 4 cancer cells switch to enhanced glycolysis to meet their energy requirements.Thus, they have advantage over non-cancer cells in utilizing glucose.