Topic Highlight
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2016. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2016; 22(1): 221-231
Published online Jan 7, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i1.221
Molecular imaging and therapy targeting copper metabolism in hepatocellular carcinoma
Jason Wachsmann, Fangyu Peng
Jason Wachsmann, Fangyu Peng, Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-8542, United States
Fangyu Peng, Advanced Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-8542, United States
Fangyu Peng, Harold C Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390-8542, United States
Author contributions: Wachsmann J and Peng F analyzed the literature and wrote the manuscript.
Supported by (in part) A faculty research start-up fund to Peng F from the Carman and Ann Adams Foundation, Detroit, Michigan, United States, and Harold C Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Fangyu Peng, MD, PhD, Department of Radiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd, Dallas, TX 75390-8542, United States. fangyu.peng@utsouthwestern.edu
Telephone: +1-214-6452625 Fax: +1-214-6456479
Received: April 29, 2015
Peer-review started: May 12, 2015
First decision: August 25, 2015
Revised: October 18, 2015
Accepted: November 13, 2015
Article in press: November 13, 2015
Published online: January 7, 2016
Core Tip

Core tip: Copper is required for cell proliferation and tumor angiogenesis. This article provided an up-to-date review of copper metabolism as a novel theranostic biomarker in hepatocellular carcinoma. Altered copper metabolism is not only a novel biomarker for molecular imaging of extrahepatic metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma using radioactive copper, but is also a promising target for copper modulation and radionuclide therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma.