ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses cancer metabolism and nutrition at the cellular level in order to elucidate the potential role of nutrients in tumor cell growth and metastasis. The risk of cancer increases with age as the result of a number of factors and at a cellular level oxidant stress, DNA damage, and senescence promote tumor metastasis. One primary factor is increased production of reactive oxygen species produced in the course of normal metabolism during aging by mitochondria. Reactive oxygen species can damage cells at the DNA, RNA, and protein level and work in concert with chronic inflammation to increase cancer risk. At the cellular level, the genetic changes that occur in cancer cells can transform normal metabolic pathways in ways that benefit the growth of cancer cells and also utilize substrates by adopting perturbed normal metabolic pathways in ways that promote tumor growth through the increased production of lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. In considering the impact of host nutrition on cancer prevention and treatment, it is important to appreciate the metabolic resilience and special adaptations of cancer cells when considering nutritional approaches as either preventive or adjunctive to cancer treatment.
