Research Progress on Correlation of Glucose Metabolism Mechanism with Invasion and Metastasis of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cells

Metastasis is the main cause of cancer-related death. Growing evidence has shown that changes in glucose metabolism in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells affect the invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma through many pathways. This review summarizes the molecular mechanism underlying abnormal glucose metabolism in nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells and analyzes its relationship with the invasion and metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, including aerobic glycolysis, aerobic oxidation, and pentose phosphate pathway. The aim is to provide novel approaches using the relationships among glucose metabolism, invasion, and metastasis in the targeted therapy of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.