It is known that cancer cells use different metabolism from normal cells to produce the energy required for survival.Since the discovery of this phenomenon in the 1920s, cancer metabolism studies have been conducted to find some cancer-specific metabolisms.Currently, anti-cancer drugs that inhibit cancer metabolism and kill cancer cells are being developed all over the world, but the mechanism of cancer metabolic changes has not been clarified.

　This time, the research group comprehensively measured normal tissues collected from 275 colorectal cancer patients and biomolecules present in cancer tissues using cutting-edge analytical techniques such as metabolome analysis technology.As a result, it was found that the metabolism of colorectal cancer changed from the stage of benign tumor and did not depend on the stage of cancer.

　In addition, it was proved for the first time in clinical specimens that the MYC protein, which is an oncogene product, changes the metabolism of colorectal cancer through the metabolic reaction of 215.Furthermore, it was shown that suppression of MYC and MYC-controlled metabolic enzymes suppresses the growth of colorectal cancer cells, and that the MYC-controlled pyrimidine metabolic pathway is a promising therapeutic target for colorectal cancer. Indicated.

　This study reveals for the first time the factors that control cancer metabolism, which has been a mystery of cancer for 100 years, by experiments using clinical specimens, as well as pyrimidine-metabolizing enzymes such as CAD, which is the target of MYC and MYC. It shows that the gene is a therapeutic target for colorectal cancer.The results of this research will be useful information for the development of preventive and therapeutic methods for colorectal cancer in the future.

Paper information:[Proceeding of National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America] Global metabolic reprogramming of colorectal cancer occurs at adenoma stage and is induced by MYC