Metabolic reprogramming-based characterization of circulating tumor cells in prostate cancer

Abstract

[...]we used the AHP-based multi-criteria weighted model by which PGK1 and G6PD were determined as the optimal markers for CTCs metabolic analysis. The clinical analysis also revealed that the G6PD level is associated with high risk of recurrence and poor survival in patients with gastric [49] and renal [50] cancers. [...]increased activity of glycolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway (indicated by the up-regulation of PGK1 and G6PD) might reflect the active status of glucose metabolism in CTCs, which further reveals CTCs aggressiveness. A Twist-overexpressing assay in breast cancer cells demonstrated the up-regulation of metabolic enzymes such as LDHA, PKM2, HK2, and G6PD, which was mediated by the PI3K/AKT and p53 signaling pathways [59]. [...]the metabolic reprogramming and EMT, which are both crucial for the biological behavior of tumor cells, can mutually regulate each other and synergistically promote cancer metastasis. In terms of research methodology, new techniques for the protein detection of the metabolic markers in CTCs need to be developed and tested for clinical applications. [...]an expanded sample size of PCa and other carcinomas would also be helpful to confirm the clinical significance of this method.