REVIEW: Warburg Effect Revisited: Embodiment of Classical Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry. Current State and Prospects

---

Leonid G. Menchikov¹, Alexander A. Shestov², and Anatoliy V. Popov^3,a*

¹N. D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation

²University of Pennsylvania, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 3400 Civic Center Blvd, Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

³University of Pennsylvania, Department of Radiology, 3620 Hamilton Walk Anatomy Chemistry Building, Rm317, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received August 16, 2022; Revised September 23, 2022; Accepted October 2, 2022

---

The Nobel Prize Winner (1931) Dr. Otto H. Warburg had established that the primary energy source of the cancer cell is aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect). He also postulated the hypothesis about “the prime cause of cancer”, which is a matter of debate nowadays. Contrary to the hypothesis, his discovery was recognized entirely. However, the discovery had almost vanished in the heat of battle about the hypothesis. The prime cause of cancer is essential for the prevention and diagnosis, yet the effects that influence tumor growth are more important for cancer treatment. Due to the Warburg effect, a large amount of data has been accumulated on biochemical changes in the cell and the organism as a whole. Due to the Warburg effect, the recovery of normal biochemistry and oxygen respiration and the restoration of the work of mitochondria of cancer cells can inhibit tumor growth and lead to remission. Here, we review the current knowledge on the inhibition of abnormal glycolysis, neutralization of its consequences, and normalization of biochemical parameters, as well as recovery of oxygen respiration of a cancer cell and mitochondrial function from the point of view of classical biochemistry and organic chemistry.

---

KEY WORDS: the Warburg effect, oncology, glycolysis, biochemistry, oxygen respiration, mitochondria

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297923140018

---