Cancer cells require energy to multiply, which they derive from glucose in the body. But, what if they don’t get that glucose? Then they make do with glutamine [an amino acid], which they use for cell replication and survival, found the research team at Johns Hopkins Brain Science Institute in collaboration with researchers outside John Hopkins. The researchers observed this behaviour in lymph gland cancer cells called B cells. However, the good news is that when the research team used glutamine inhibitors, deprived of their nutrition, cancer cells stopped growing in the Petri dish.
They hope that cancer researchers will find a new avenue to pursue in stopping the growth of cancer.