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Copper in Cancer: from transition metal to potential target

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Abstract

In recent years, with the continuous in-depth exploration of the molecular mechanisms of tumorigenesis, numerous potential new targets for cancer treatment have been identified, some of which have been further developed in clinical practice and have produced positive outcomes. Notably, researchers' initial motivation for studying copper metabolism in cancer stems from the fact that copper is a necessary trace element for organisms and is closely connected to body growth and metabolism. Moreover, over the past few decades, considerable progress has been made in understanding the molecular processes and correlations between copper and cancer. Certain achievements have been made in the development and use of relevant clinical medications. The concept of "cuproptosis," a novel concept that differs from previous forms of cell death, was first proposed by a group of scientists last year, offering fresh perspectives on the targeting capabilities of copper in the treatment of cancer. In this review, we introduced the fundamental physiological functions of copper, the key components of copper metabolism, and a summary of the current research contributions on the connection between copper and cancer. In addition, the development of new copper-based nanomaterials and their associated mechanisms of action are discussed. Finally, we described how the susceptibility of cancer cells to this metallic nutrition could be leveraged to further improve the existing cancer treatment paradigm in the new setting.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.cn) for English language editing.

Funding

This study was funded by the Anhui Provincial University Research Projects (2022AH050779); the Key Research and Development Project of Anhui Provincial Department of Science and Technology (202004j07020036); the Key Teaching Research Project of Anhui Provincial Department of Education (2020xsxxkc247), and the Wu Jieping Medical Fund (320.6750.19092–19).

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  1. Can Fang and Zhiwei Peng contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Surgery, Fuyang Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Fuyang, China

    Kongwang Hu

  2. Department of General Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, NO. 218 Jixi Road, Shushan District, Hefei, Anhui, 230022, People’s Republic of China

    Can Fang, Zhiwei Peng, Zihao Ren, Huiming Ding, Haibo Yuan & Kongwang Hu

  3. Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China

    Yaru Sang

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Contributions

We are grateful to Prof. KH for reviewing the manuscript. During the manuscript creation process, CF and ZP conceived the initial idea and took on the main task of writing. YS, ZR, and HD participated in the drawing of the accompanying pictures and literature collection. All authors assessed the literature and participated in manuscript revision, read and approve the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Kongwang Hu.

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Fang, C., Peng, Z., Sang, Y. et al. Copper in Cancer: from transition metal to potential target. Human Cell 37, 85–100 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13577-023-00985-5

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