Metabolic adaptations in cancer progression

Cancer cells reprogram their metabolism as they travel to distant organs to establish metastases, the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. While the metabolic state of primary tumors has been extensively studied, the specific metabolic alterations associated with metastases have only recently garnered significant attention. The metabolic dependencies that arise during the metastatic cascade, along with the adaptive metabolic shifts required for growth in a new microenvironment, present promising therapeutic targets. In this review, we provide an overview of cancer metabolism, followed by a detailed exploration of the metabolic changes occurring at each stage of metastasis and within common organs of metastatic spread. Lastly, we examine the potential and challenges of targeting metabolic pathways in cancer therapy.