Cuproptosis and Cuproptosis-Based Synergistic Therapy for Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Copper, as an essential trace nutrient for human, plays a crucial role in numerous cellular activities, and is vital for maintaining homeostasis in organisms. Deviations from normal intracellular copper concentration range can disrupt the cellular homeostasis and lead to cell death. Cell death is the process in which cells lose their vitality and cannot sustain normal metabolism, which has various forms. The recently discovered cuproptosis mechanism differs from the previously recognized forms, which is triggered by intracellular copper accumulation. The discovery of cuproptosis has sparked interest among researchers, and this mechanism has been applied in the treatment of various intractable diseases, including different types of cancer. However, the developed cuproptosis-based therapies have revealed certain limitations, such as low immunostimulatory efficiency, poor tumor targeting, and inhibition by the tumor microenvironment. Therefore, researchers are devoted to combining cuproptosis with existing cancer therapies to develop more effective synergistic cancer therapies. This review summarizes the latest research advancements in the cuproptosis-based therapies for various types of cancer, with a focus on the synergistic cancer therapies. Finally, it provides an outlook on the future development of cuproptosis in anti-tumor therapy.