Targeting oxidative phosphorylation: why, when, and how.

In this issue of Cancer Cell, Vazquez and colleagues report reduced glycolysis and increased oxidative phosphorylation in certain melanomas, revealing metabolic plasticity rather than stable Warburg pathophysiology. Furthermore, Haq and colleagues (also in this issue of Cancer Cell) show situations where increased oxidative phosphorylation is required for melanomas to survive inhibition of B-RAF, suggesting investigation of therapeutic combinations of B-RAF inhibitors with biguanides.