The Warburg effect – Discovered 100 years ago

What is it about?

100 Years ago Warburg discovered that cancer cells take up far more glucose than normal cells. Because cancer cells grow faster, Warburg assumed that these cells would also take up more dioxygen. But, as he found, they do not. Instead, cancer cells split glucose in two lactic acid molecules, which yields only two ATP molecules, instead of about 35 ATP if one glucose molecule were metabolized to 6 carbon dioxide molecules.

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Why is it important?

Cancer cells thrive with or without dioxygen, which is an advantage. But the mechanism by which cancer cells do this, has still not been fully understood 100 years later, although hypotheses have been advanced.

Perspectives