Detection, mechanisms, and therapeutic implications of oncometabolites.

The accumulation of specific metabolic intermediates is known to promote cancer progression. Metabolic abnormalities are hallmarks of cancer cells and contribute to tumor progression. The resultant abnormal oncometabolites cause both metabolic and nonmetabolic dysregulation and have pleiotropic effects on cancer biology, suggesting potential for therapeutic intervention. Targeting oncometabolites could reverse dysfunctional cellular metabolism in tumors. Small molecule metabolite-based metabolomics, as a diagnostic technique, gains insight into therapeutic targets for metastatic disease, providing a methodological basis for better understanding the signaling role of oncometabolites in the modulation of the tumor microenvironment. Metabolic abnormalities are a hallmark of cancer cells and are essential to tumor progression. Oncometabolites have pleiotropic effects on cancer biology and affect a plethora of processes, from oncogenesis and metabolism to therapeutic resistance. Targeting oncometabolites, therefore, could offer promising therapeutic avenues against tumor growth and resistance to treatments. Recent advances in characterizing the metabolic profiles of cancer cells are shedding light on the underlying mechanisms and associated metabolic networks. This review summarizes the diverse detection methods, molecular mechanisms, and therapeutic targets of oncometabolites, which may lead to targeting oncometabolism for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]