Engineering the Death of Cancer Cells

The hyperactive metabolism of cancer cells is extensively modified to support their unsustainable consumption of nutrients, which is what allows cancer cells to reproduce rapidly. Yet cancer cells lose their ability to make certain nutrients on their own like healthy cells do. Instead, cancer cells must obtain these nutrients from the bloodstream and from body fluid. Our laboratory experiments demonstrate that when supply of these nutrients is cut off, cancer cells die — whereas healthy cells continue to grow as they normally would.