Question:medium
From where do dividing cancer cells derive energy?
From where do dividing cancer cells derive energy?
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Cancer cells favor aerobic glycolysis, the Warburg effect, using glycolysis for energy and building blocks even when oxygen is present.
Updated On: Jul 8, 2026
- Glycolysis
- Mitochondria
- Oxidative phosphorylation
- Anaerobic metabolism
Show Solution
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Picture a normal cell versus a cancer cell using glucose.
A normal, well oxygenated cell mostly sends glucose through the mitochondria for oxidative phosphorylation, squeezing out the maximum ATP per molecule. A cancer cell, even sitting in the same oxygen rich environment, instead pushes most of its glucose through glycolysis and turns it into lactate.
Step 2: Ask why a cell would choose the less efficient path.
Speed and raw material matter more than efficiency here. Glycolysis runs fast and its branch points hand off carbon skeletons to make nucleotides, amino acids and fatty acids, exactly what a cell needs when it is about to divide again and again.
Step 3: Address the tempting wrong answers.
Saying mitochondria or oxidative phosphorylation would be wrong here because these pathways are relatively suppressed in this metabolic switch, not the driver of it. Calling it anaerobic metabolism misses the point of the Warburg effect entirely, since oxygen is not scarce, the cell is choosing glycolysis on purpose despite having oxygen to spare.
Step 4: Conclude.
\[ \boxed{\text{Glycolysis}} \]
A normal, well oxygenated cell mostly sends glucose through the mitochondria for oxidative phosphorylation, squeezing out the maximum ATP per molecule. A cancer cell, even sitting in the same oxygen rich environment, instead pushes most of its glucose through glycolysis and turns it into lactate.
Step 2: Ask why a cell would choose the less efficient path.
Speed and raw material matter more than efficiency here. Glycolysis runs fast and its branch points hand off carbon skeletons to make nucleotides, amino acids and fatty acids, exactly what a cell needs when it is about to divide again and again.
Step 3: Address the tempting wrong answers.
Saying mitochondria or oxidative phosphorylation would be wrong here because these pathways are relatively suppressed in this metabolic switch, not the driver of it. Calling it anaerobic metabolism misses the point of the Warburg effect entirely, since oxygen is not scarce, the cell is choosing glycolysis on purpose despite having oxygen to spare.
Step 4: Conclude.
\[ \boxed{\text{Glycolysis}} \]
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