New discovery of the relationship between lactate and cancer

A study by American scientists from many universities found lactate - a circulatory substance that accumulates in tissues and blood, causing muscle stiffness and hindering metabolism which may be one of the triggers. Cancer cells thrive and accelerate the metastasis rate of malignant tumors in the patient's body.

Since 1923, the Nobel Prize-winning German scientist Otto Warburg has found that cancer cells are capable of absorbing sugar or glucose many times higher than normal cells.

These cells do not seem to be able to convert the amount of sugar absorbed into energy; instead, they convert 70% of the sugar into lactate, making it a dangerous accessory that exists in the body. For decades after that, scientists focused on studying the gene element in cancer, ignoring the understanding of the mechanism of cancer cell metabolism. Therefore, the role of lactate in the development of cancer temporarily is not taken into account.

People who are active regularly are less likely to get cancer because their bodies are able to release lactate.

In this new study, researchers have partly elucidated the role of lactate in the formation of new blood vessels in tumors, how it interferes with the body's immune system in response to Cancer cells as well as how lactate forms acidic microenvironment or an area outside the cancer cell, can accelerate the metastasis rate of malignant tumors.

The study also compared changes in the muscles of an athlete with intense exercise to the development of cancer.

According to Inigo San Milan, Director of the Physiological Laboratory at the University of Colorado Sports Medicine Center, and a former cyclist at the Tour de France, when people exercise with High intensity, the muscles have many metabolic activities similar to cancer cells.Muscles can absorb and turn a large amount of glucose into energy in the mitochondria, causing lactate levels to rise , higher than the body can release. Mitochondria are organelles surrounded by two membranes present in all eukaryotes. Mitochondria produce most of the high-energy adenosine triphosphate molecule, a source of chemical energy that supplies most cellular activities.

For healthy people, the body will reuse this lactate and turn it into a useful energy source for the brain, muscles and other organs. However, for people with cancer, this function may not work and the body's circulatory system is broken.

According to scientists, people who are active regularly are less likely to get cancer because their bodies are able to release lactate. Meanwhile, in those who are less active, prefer to eat sweets, the body can accumulate lactate, limiting metabolism, leading to a higher risk of cancer.