Background: Cancer metabolism is emerging as a promising research area in genitourinary tumors. Both renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and prostate cancer (PCa) cells exhibit marked alterations of their metabolism. These changes include increased aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect), increased protein and DNA synthesis and de novo fatty acid (FA) synthesis.
Objective: Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying such alterations will represent a major step forward in cancer research. Indeed, reprogramming cancer cell energy metabolism represents a promising hallmark of cancer and may pave the way for novel personalized approaches.
Method: PubMed databases were searched for articles published about cancer metabolism in genitourinary tumors.
Results and conclusion: This review is focused on the metabolic alterations that occur in RCC and PCa and describes the mechanisms underlying such metabolic changes.