Pathophysiological role of copper and zinc metabolism in carcino-genesis and tumor progression - ways to new possibilities of therapy and prognosis

Objectivе - to carry out a systematic analysis of the data available in the modern literature on the pathophysiological role of copper and zinc metabolism in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Materials and methods. In preparing the review, the publications of the biomedical literature information databases Scopus (307), PubMed (378), Web of Science (104) were analyzed, eLibrary.ru (219). To obtain full-text documents, the electronic resources PubMed Central (PMC), Science Direct, Research Gate, eLibrary.ru. Results. Copper and zinc play a significant pathophysiological role in carcinogenesis, often being functional antagonists of each other, but sometimes synergists in neoplastic processes. Future prospects for the study of drugs capable of selectively influencing the intrathumoral concentration of these elements create attractive additions to drug therapy. At the moment, all potential drugs are in the early stages of research, but the results for individual nosologies are already promising. Conclusion. It is necessary to continue comprehensive research on the use of copper and zinc ions as therapeutic targets, which may in the future become an alternative to highly toxic classical chemotherapy. The specificity and sensitivity of markers based on the analysis of the concentration of copper and zinc in blood serum and their ratio remains at a fairly low level. This can be a useful tool for assessing the dynamics of copper and zinc levels in the process of antitumor drug therapy of various tumors. In addition, our understanding of the pathophysiological role of these elements allows us to create a complete picture of molecular alterations in each case.

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