Mitochondria in cancer: why mitochondria are a good target for cancer therapy

Abstract

Cancer can be characterized as a state of multifaceted cellular deregulation including control of proliferation and bioenergetics. The latter involves in particular mitochondria, the site of the generation of ATP, essential for the proper cellular function (including proliferation). Mitochondria also contain a variety of proteins that are necessary for the induction/promotion, as well as for the prevention of cell death. Therefore, mitochondria are pivotal in deciding the fate of a cell. In cancer, mitochondria are dysfunctional, which was observed as early as in the 1930s by Otto Warburg. Due to the central role of mitochondria, these organelles, endowed with its own DNA, are a focus of research as possible "culprits" for the malignancy of cancer cells (or at least contributing to this phenotype) and, importantly, as emerging targets for anticancer therapy.