Exploring metabolic dynamics of cancer metastasis through in vitro models

Cancer metastasis, the leading cause of cancer related deaths, is closely associated with the dynamic metabolism and bioenergetics of these deadly cells. Unravelling how cancer cell metabolism changes during metastasis and what sets these cells apart from non-metastatic cells could potentially aid the development of future treatment options to terminally ill cancer patients. In vivo studies of the metastatic cascade from a metabolic point of view have been associated with various issues including difficulty in identifying the cells in various phases of the metastatic cascade, variable reproducibility, and small biomass of the identified cells. This could be addressed by adequate in vitro models where specific phases of metastasis can be modelled and studied in isolation, and sample biomass and metastasis specific parameters can be adapted to suit the researcher’s need. In this review we will assess the available models for studying metastasis in vitro, and their suitability for metabolomic studies.