Cobalamin or vitamin B12 (B12) is a cofactor for methionine synthase and methylmalonyl-CoA mutase, two enzymes implicated in key pathways for cell proliferation: methylation, purine synthesis, succinylation and ATP production. Ensuring these functions in cancer cells therefore requires important cobalamin needs and its uptake through the transcobalamin II receptor (TCII-R). Thus, both the TCII-R and the cobalamin-dependent metabolic pathways constitute promising therapeutic targets to inhibit cancer development. However, the link between cobalamin and solid cancers is not limited to cellular metabolism, as it also involves the circulating transcobalamins I and II (TCI or haptocorrin and TCII) carrier proteins, encoded by TCN1 and TCN2, respectively. In this respect, elevations of B12, TCI and TCII concentrations in plasma are associated with cancer onset and relapse, and with the presence of metastases and worse prognosis. In addition, TCN1 and TCN2 overexpressions are associated with chemoresistance and a proliferative phenotype, respectively. Here we review the involvement of cobalamin and transcobalamins in cancer diagnosis and prognosis, and as potential therapeutic targets. We further detail the relationship between cobalamin-dependent metabolic pathways in cancer cells and the transcobalamins' abundancies in plasma and tumors, to ultimately hypothesize screening and therapeutic strategies linking these aspects.
Keywords: metabolism; methionine; methylation; neoplasms; transcobalamins; vitamin B12.