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REVIEW article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Metabolism
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1534300
Pain, Lactate, and Anesthetics: Intertwined Regulators of Tumor Metabolism and Immunity
Provisionally accepted- Ganzhou People's Hospital, Ganzhou, China
Patients with advanced cancer frequently endure severe pain, which substantially diminishes their quality of life and can adversely impact survival. Analgesia, a critical modality for alleviating such pain, is now under scrutiny for its potential role in cancer progression, a relationship whose underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Emerging evidence suggests that lactate, once considered a metabolic byproduct, actively participates in the malignant progression of cancer by modulating both metabolic and immunological pathways within the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, lactate is implicated in the modulation of cancer-related pain, exerting effects through direct and indirect mechanisms. This review synthesizes current understanding of lactate's production, transport, and functional roles in tumor cells, encompassing the regulation of tumor metabolism, immunity, and progression. Additionally, we dissect the complex, bidirectional relationship between lactate and pain, and assess the impact of anesthetics on pain relief, lactate homeostasis, and tumorigenesis.
Keywords: Anesthesia, Lactate, Pain, Cancer Progression, Metabolism, Immunity
Received: 25 Nov 2024; Accepted: 24 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lan, OuYang, Chen, Li, Zhong and Deng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Simin Deng, Ganzhou People's Hospital, Ganzhou, China
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