Targeting Metabolism in Alveolar Soft Part Sarcomagenesis

Background

Every cell generates and consumes energy to perform its functions. This is termed metabolism.

One intermediate step in sugar metabolism is a molecule called lactate. Traditionally, lactate was considered only a by-product of metabolism in tissues with low oxygen levels. This view was overturned when scientists learned that some cells with normal oxygen levels intentionally produce lactate and others consume it as a preferred fuel.

Cancer cell metabolism is a growing field of study. The traditional view of cancer cell metabolism emphasized the inefficient consumption of sugar and the production of excess lactate. This view is now challenged by data showing that some cancer cells instead use lactate as a fuel. Further, we now know that lactate also functions as a signal, driving vessel ingrowth into tumors. What is needed is a model system in which we can test lactate metabolism in a living tumor.

Project Goals

Alveolar soft part sarcoma is a deadly cancer that typically arises in the limbs of adolescents or young adults. It is deadly because it spreads to distant sites of the body and is then resistant to all available treatments. The young victims of this disease need better treatment options. Alveolar soft part sarcoma demonstrates signs of dependence on lactate metabolism.

With a new model of this disease, we hope to investigate its metabolism as a means of finding novel treatment approaches. If our hypothesis is correct, an entire new avenue of treatment options opens not only for this particular tumor, but for cancer more generally.

Institutions