Study points to lactate as key driver of cancer

It also theorizes how three major transcription factors, or proteins, involved in most cancers, namely HIF-1,cMYC, and p53, kick-start and perpetuate lactate deregulation in cancer.

The paper draws parallels between what happens in the muscles of an athlete in training, and what happens in a developing cancer.

"During high-intensity exercise, working muscles display many of the same metabolic characteristics as cancer cells," San Millan, a former pro cyclist and physiologist to Tour de France cyclists, was quoted as explaining in a news release from CU Boulder. Muscles take up large amounts of glucose, turning it to energy inside the mitochondria and churning out more lactate than the body can immediately clear.

In a healthy person, Brooks' research has shown, the body then recycles that lactate for beneficial use, turning it into a key source of fuel for the brain, muscles, and organs, preventing it from building up. In cancer, the authors of the paper suggest, that recycling system breaks down.

While people who exercise regularly are at less risk of cancer, in part due to their body's ability to clear lactate more efficiently, San Millan noted, a sedentary lifestyle, combined with excess sugar intake may fuel lactate accumulation and kick-start the metabolic misfiring that can lead to cancer.