Summary
The acquisition of a glycolytic phenotype by transformed cells confers a selective
growth advantage to these cells. Interfering with aerobic glycolysis, therefore,
represents a potentially effective strategy to selectively target cancer cells.
Otto Warburg postulated this change in metabolism is the fundamental cause of cancer,[7] a claim now known as the Warburg hypothesis. Today, mutations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes are known to be responsible for malignant transformation, and the Warburg effect is considered to be a result of these mutations rather than a cause.[8][9