Study sheds light on copper's role in driving kidney cancer

MSN highlighted a new University of Cincinnati study published in the journal Cancer Discovery that details how the accumulation of copper helps clear cell renal cell carcinoma grow and advance in stage.

The Cancer Center’s Maria Czyzyk-Krzeska, MD, PhD, lead author of the research, said that increased accumulation of copper is associated with worse outcomes for patients with ccRCC. Using a multidisciplinary approach, Czyzyk-Krzeska and her colleagues established that ccRCC cells accumulate more copper as they advance from stage 1 toward metastatic disease.

The team found high copper levels help cancer cells make more of a special enzyme that boosts their energy and growth. At the same time, sugar (glucose) helps create a protective molecule called glutathione. This molecule clears out toxins and reduces the harmful effects of copper, giving cancer cells an extra survival boost. 

“In other words, copper induces an orchestrated, multilevel adaptation of cancer cells that promotes tumor growth,” said Czyzyk-Krzeska, professor in the Department of Cancer Biology in UC’s College of Medicine. “It causes a change in the cell’s metabolic state.”

Read the MSN story.

Read the original UC News story.

Featured photo at top of periodic table highlighting copper. Photo/HT Ganzo/iStock.