• The Role of Copper and Cuproptosis in Colon Cancer Development and Treatment
  • Alireza Faeghi,1,* Mina Soleimani,2
    1. Department of Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Paramedicine, Aligudarz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Aligudarz, Iran
    2. Department of Laboratory Science, Faculty of Paramedicine, Mashhad Medical Science, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran


  • Introduction: Colon cancer is one of the leading tumors and the third most common type of cancer globally; it is considered one of the major killers. One of the cancer detection methods is using copper metal because metastasized cells need more copper for survival. Cuproptosis is a different type of cell death from copper and the accumulation of acidified lipids, unlike traditional cell death cause. Cuproptosis, as an essential cellular function and process, has been recently discovered and can play a significant role in the treatment of colon cancer.
  • Methods: Articles and information from 2010 to 2023 were searched using the keywords "colon cancer," "cuproptosis", and "copper" in scientific databases like PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar.
  • Results: Copper homeostasis plays an essential role in the development of various tumors, and its imbalance can lead to cytotoxicity, which affects the growth and proliferation of cancer cells. By changing its form in cuproptosis, binding to fatty acids, and changing its shape, copper causes the loss of iron-sulfur cluster proteins and cell death. Also, the expression level of genes involved in cytolytic activity, checkpoint, and para-inflammatory pathways in colon cancer patients has increased significantly, which indicates the critical role of immune dysfunction in cuproptosis and prognosis of colon cancer patients.
  • Conclusion: Considering the lethality of colon cancer and the high number of victims in the world, as well as the more precise identification of the relationship between the effect of cuproptosis and the immune system response in colon cancer, manipulating copper levels and cuproptosis pathways may offer new strategies for colon cancer treatment and, we also need more detailed and complete studies for more effective treatments.
  • Keywords: Cuproptosis, Colon cancer, Copper, Cell death, and infection.