Lactate: A Metabolic Driver in the Tumour Landscape

Abstract

The presence of lactate in human tumours has been long neglected, confined to the role of a waste product derived from glycolysis and as a biomarker of malignancy. More recently, lactate has been rediscovered as signalling molecule that plays important roles in the regulation of the metabolic pathways, the immune response, and cell-to-cell communication within the tumour microenvironment. This review examines recent discoveries about the functional role of lactate in shaping the behaviour and the phenotype of tumour and tumour-associated cells, and describes potential clinical approaches to target lactate transport and metabolism in tumours.

Keywords: mitochondria; tumour metabolism; tumour microenvironment; tumour–stroma interplay.