Energy metabolic dysfunction as a carcinogenic factor in cancer cells

Abstract Cancer, as a leading cause of death, has attracted enormous public attention. Reprogramming of cellular energy metabolism is deemed to be one of the principal hallmarks of cancer. In this article, we reviewed the mutual relationships among environmental pollution factors, energy metabolic dysfunction, and various cancers. We found that most environmental pollution factors could induce cancers mainly by disturbing the energy metabolism. By triggering microenvironment alteration, energy metabolic dysfunction can be treated as a factor in carcinogenesis. Thus, we put forward that energy metabolism might be as a key point for studying carcinogenesis and tumor development to propose new methods for cancer prevention and therapy.