TY - JOUR AB - Cancer cells undergo metabolic reprogramming, including increased glucose metabolism, fatty acid synthesis and glutamine metabolic rates. These enhancements to three major metabolic pathways are closely associated with glycolysis, which is considered the central component of cancer cell metabolism. Increasing evidence suggests that dysfunctional glycolysis is commonly associated with drug resistance in cancer treatment, and aberrant glycolysis plays a significant role in drug‑resistant cancer cells. Studies on the development of drugs targeting these abnormalities have led to improvements in the efficacy of tumor treatment. The present review discusses the changes in glycolysis targets that cause drug resistance in cancer cells, including hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, glucose transporters, and lactate, as well the underlying molecular mechanisms and corresponding novel therapeutic strategies. In addition, the association between increased oxidative phosphorylation and drug resistance is introduced, which is caused by metabolic plasticity. Given that aberrant glycolysis has been identified as a common metabolic feature of drug‑resistant tumor cells, targeting glycolysis may be a novel strategy to develop new drugs to benefit patients with drug‑resistance. AD - Department of Breast Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210029, P.R. China Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Medical Institute, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210004, P.R. China AU - Peng,Jinghui AU - Cui,Yangyang AU - Xu,Shipeng AU - Wu,Xiaowei AU - Huang,Yue AU - Zhou,Wenbin AU - Wang,Shui AU - Fu,Ziyi AU - Xie,Hui DA - 2021/05/01 DO - 10.3892/ol.2021.12630 IS - 5 JO - Oncol Lett KW - cancer glycolysis drug resistance microenvironment metabolism PY - 2021 SN - 1792-1074 1792-1082 SP - 369 ST - Altered glycolysis results in drug‑resistant in clinical tumor therapy (Review) T2 - Oncology Letters TI - Altered glycolysis results in drug‑resistant in clinical tumor therapy (Review) UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2021.12630 VL - 21 ER -