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Cancer cells generate more lactate than normal cells under both aerobic and hypoxic conditions—exhibiting the so-called Warburg effect. However, the relationship between the Warburg effect and tumor metastatic potential remains controversial. We intend to investigate whether the higher lactate reflects higher tumor metastatic potential.

We used hyperpolarized ¹³C-pyruvate magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to compare lactate ¹³C-labeling in vivo in mouse xenografts of the highly metastatic (MDA-MB-231) and the relatively indolent (MCF-7) human breast cancer cell lines. We obtained the kinetic parameters of the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)–catalyzed reaction by three methods of data analysis including the differential equation fit, q-ratio fit, and ratio fit methods.

Consistent results from the three methods showed that the highly metastatic tumors …