AUTHOR=Kowalik Marta Anna , Columbano Amedeo , Perra Andrea 

TITLE=Emerging Role of the Pentose Phosphate Pathway in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2017.00087

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2017.00087

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p>In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in metabolic changes of cancer cells as it has been noticed that malignant transformation and metabolic reprogramming are closely intertwined. The pentose phosphate pathway (PPP) is one of the fundamental components of cellular metabolism crucial for cancer cells. This review will discuss recent findings regarding the involvement of PPP enzymes in several types of cancer, with a focus on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We will pay considerable attention to the involvement of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, the rate-limiting enzyme of the PPP. Subsequently, we discuss the inhibition of the PPP as a potential therapeutic strategy against cancer, in particular, HCC.</p>