The Warburg Theory of Cancer
1. Cancer arises from damage to cellular respiration.
2. Cells begin to create energy through fermentation to compensate for
insufficient respiration.
3. Cancer cells continue to ferment lactate in the presence of oxygen.
(Warburg Effect)
4. Cancer cells continue to ferment glutamine-derived succinate
in the presence of oxygen. (Added by Thomas Seyfried)
(Cancer cells also utilize fatty acids to create energy.)
5. Enhanced fermentation is the signature metabolic dysfunction
of virtually all cancer cells.
The Primary Cause of Cancer
Otto Warburg (winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1931, and again in 1944) put forth the thesis that the primary or fundamental cause of cancer is a lack of available oxygen at the cellular level. According to Warburg (and many others who support his thesis) a lack of oxygen on the cellular level forces an otherwise normal cell to revert to a primitive, anaerobic form of energy production called fermentation. When a cell reverts back to this primitive form of energy production it uses up lots of glucose and produces a toxic form of lactic acid as a waste product. In this dysfunctional form the cell loses its whole-body intelligence and is no longer able to function as an integral part of a tissue or organ. In this form it begins to multiply on its own, unchecked and without control, and eventually forms into a tumor mass. ("cancer".)
In his Noble Prize address, Otto Warburg stated:
“There are primary and secondary causes of diseases. For example, the primary cause of the plague is the plague bacillus, but secondary causes of the plague are filth, rats, and the fleas that transfer the plague bacillus from rats to man. By a primary cause of a disease I mean one that is found in every case of the disease.
“Cancer, above all other diseases, has countless secondary causes. But, even for cancer, there is only one primary cause. Summarized in a few words, the primary cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen in normal body cells by a fermentation of sugar. All normal body cells meet their energy needs by respiration of oxygen, whereas cancer cells meet their energy needs in great part by fermentation. All normal body cells are thus obligate aerobes, whereas all cancer cells are partial anaerobes. From the standpoint of the physics and chemistry of life this difference between normal and cancer cells is so great that one can scarcely picture a greater difference. Oxygen gas, the donor of energy in plants and animals is dethroned in the cancer cells and replaced by an energy yielding reaction of the lowest living forms [such as yeast or bacteria], namely, a fermentation of glucose.”
>> More from the Warburg Lecture
Normal Cell vs Cancer Cell (Energy Production)
Normal cells utilize oxygen to produce most of their energy (in the mitochondria) through a process called oxidative phosphorylation. Cancer cells, whose mitochondria are impaired (and/or who do not receive a sufficient supply of oxygen-fuel) must revert to a more ancient method of producing energy through fermentation, which can be accomplished in the absence of oxygen.
Cancer as a Metabolic Disease
Thomas Seyfried’s thesis (which can be seen as a natural extension of Warburg’s thesis, and one that provides a "missing link") is that cancer results from a dysfunction of the mitochondria. In this impaired state the cell is no longer able to produce energy through oxidation and must refer back to its original mode of energy production, which is fermentation. Mitochondria are also responsible for signaling apoptosis (cell death) to the nucleus but in the case of dysfunctional mitochondria, as seen in cancer cells, the “kill switch” is broken and so the death signal never reaches the nucleus; thus, the cell reproduces without limitations.
Seyfried’s basic treatment involves cutting off the main supply lines that cancer cells use to produce energy, which are Glucose and Glutamine. Part of his approach to blocking these pathways includes a reduced caloric intake and a ketogenic diet but some people reject this approach feeling that some carbohydrate fuel is necessary for overall health.
Thomas Seyfried’s thesis (which can be seen as a natural extension of Warburg’s thesis, and one that provides a "missing link") is that cancer results from a dysfunction of the mitochondria. In this impaired state the cell is no longer able to produce energy through oxidation and must refer back to its original mode of energy production, which is fermentation. Mitochondria are also responsible for signaling apoptosis (cell death) to the nucleus but in the case of dysfunctional mitochondria, as seen in cancer cells, the “kill switch” is broken and so the death signal never reaches the nucleus; thus, the cell reproduces without limitations.
Seyfried’s basic treatment involves cutting off the main supply lines that cancer cells use to produce energy, which are Glucose and Glutamine. Part of his approach to blocking these pathways includes a reduced caloric intake and a ketogenic diet but some people reject this approach feeling that some carbohydrate fuel is necessary for overall health.