Copper’s bad reputation seems to be growing. The metal, already framed as one of the main environmental factors that trigger the onset and enhance the progression of Alzheimer’s, is now being linked to the accelerated growth of cancer cells.
According to a study led by Douglas Hanahan, researcher at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne and holder of the Merck Serono Chair in Oncology, copper in drinking water – given at the maximum levels permitted in public water supplies – accelerated the growth of tumours in mice.
The research, published at Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), provides direct evidence that copper can enhance the proliferation of cancer cells in humans as well.
“The biggest surprise was that a small amount of copper added to drinking water accelerated the growth of tumours, indicating that copper is an essential nutrient for them, said Seiko Ishida, one of the paper’s authors.
Tap water coming through copper pipes, red meat and shellfish as well as fruit and vegetables are all sources of dietary copper, which is vital to keep a healthy body. The catch is, says the researchers, that over certain levels it can also cause accelerate the growth of tumours.
The researchers, however, do not think that copper causes cancer. Exposure of healthy mice to the same amount of copper provided via drinking water to sick mice, for up to two years, did not result in an increased incidence of cancer. The authors suggest their findings show that copper levels should be monitored in cancer patients as a way of controlling the expansion of the disease.
They propose that minimizing copper in the patient’s system may be beneficial in cancer therapy, especially when combined with certain drugs in order to starve cancer cells, which tend to require much higher amounts of energy than normal ones.
3 Comments
Ralph
Could copper be used as a drug carrier which targets cancer cells?
David_R59
The copper in water pipes is only a problem if the water is acidic. If the water is alkaline then very little copper dissolves into the water.
All these articles almost make me think they have an ulterior motive in them; like trying to convince us that plastic pipes are healthier (even if they have BPA in them).
I’ll keep my copper pipes, thank you.
2ndOrion
Perhaps the copper helps promote the growth of blood vessels to and in cancer tumors the same way as it promotes the growth of blood vessels in a healthy body with no cancer cells and therefore promotes the growth of cancer because the cancer needs nutrients. Without blood vessel growth into and in cancers, cancer cells in cancers could not live, as there would be no nutrient supply for them.