Breast Cancer Biochemistry: Carbohydrate Metabolism

Metabolism is the main characteristic of bio-organism. Deregulation of metabolism, including up or down regulation of enzymes and metabolites, result in human disease and in turn, development of the disorders are manifested in metabolism. This concept is observed in breast cancer evidently. In this book, we reviewed more than 4,000 articles regarding carbohydrate metabolism in breast cancer in the enzyme-by-enzyme, metabolite-by-metabolite and step-by-step manner. The topics were summarized in 12 chapters that include glycolysis, pyruvate fate, lactate production, transporters, TCA cycle, electron transport chain, hexosamine biosynthetic pathway, glycogen metabolism, gluconeogenesis, pentose phosphate pathway, glucuronic acid metabolism, and glycosaminoglycans. Ultimately, we discussed the importance of diabetes and other metabolic disorders in breast cancer pathogenesis. In this book, we try to answer several questions; which enzyme, metabolite or metabolic change could be considered as biomarker for diagnosis, classification, and prognosis and patients outcome? What is the role of metabolic shifts in the cancer initiation, progression, metastasis, and chemoresistance and treatment failure? Which enzymes or pathways may be a potential target for breast cancer treatment and how it is possible to modulate these critical points in order to cancer treatment? Finally, this book is recommended for biologist, breast cancer researchers and physicians.