Metabolism is fundamental for life as it provides organisms with a means to utilize nutrients from their environment for production of energy and biosynthetic precursors to support cellular functions. Despite a large body of knowledge that describes how different metabolites interconvert through a labyrinth of chemical reactions, how metabolic changes contribute to disease is not sufficiently well understood. Growing evidence suggests that metabolic alterations have important roles in tumorigenesis. Therefore elucidating the roles of metabolism in cancer holds significant promise for the development of new therapeutic avenues.