Cancer Onset and Treatment — From the Perspective of Alkalisation Therapy Based on Science-Based Medicine

Mitochondria are the primary organs responsible for energy production (oxidative phosphorylation, OXPHOS) in eukaryotic cells and are also deeply involved in the induction of cell death (apoptosis).

In cancer cells, mitochondrial dysfunction triggers the ‘Warburg effect’ causing the primary energy production pathway to become dependent on glycolysis even in the presence of oxygen [1]. This metabolic reorganization allows cancer cells to maintain an alkaline intracellular environment and an acidic extracellular environment, enabling them to survive and proliferate under hypoxic conditions [2].

Otto Warburg reported in the 1950s that cancer cells rely on glycolytic energy metabolism (aerobic glycolysis) even in oxygen-rich environments, suggesting that this process may be deeply involved in the essence of cancer development [1,3]. Intermittent oxygen deprivation impairs mitochondrial OXPHOS function, halting ATP production and typically leading to cell death (apoptosis). However, some cells switch metabolic pathways via retrograde signals from mitochondria to the nucleus, adapting to oxygen-independent glycolytic metabolism and acquiring the potential to survive and become cancerous [3].