Fig. 3. How manipulation of tumor cell metabolism can be used to induce cell death by metabolic catastrophe. The difference between normal and tumor cell metabolism can be exploited for cancer therapy by promoting metabolic catastrophe. mTOR inhibitors, such as rapamycin and its analogues in this case, are an effective means to limit tumor cell growth (Faivre et al., 2006). Alternatively, metabolic catastrophe can be achieved by therapeutic starvation, by restricting nutrient availability, uptake and utilization, by enhancing consumption or by preventing catabolism through autophagy.