Altogether, our data show that MCT1 and MCT4 play a key role in leukemic cell proliferation and suggest that lactate metabolism is a potential target for AML therapy, particularly through MCT4 inhibition by SYRO, an inducer of autophagy with a major affinity for MCT4 whose overexpression is correlated with poor prognosis in AML, to be used in combination with conventional chemotherapeutic agents as a novel treatment strategy in AML. Here, SLC16A1 is linked to acute myeloid leukemia.