Cuproptosis, the current form of regulated cell death characterized by
copper overload, oligomerization of lipoacylated proteins, and loss of
the Fe-S cluster proteins, has been proposed to function closely with
human diseases including cancer. Since the first identification in 2022,
a wide range of strategies have been developed to induce cuproptosis for
cancer therapy, such as small-molecule drugs and nanomaterials. Although
many reviews related to cuproptosis have been reported, they remain at a
basic mechanism level and a summary covering recent progress in the
field of nanotechnologies in cuproptosis-based cancer therapy has not
yet been presented. Therefore, it is time to fill the gap and shed light
on future directions for the application of this promising tool to fight
against cancer. In this minireview, we first expounded the mechanism of
action of cuproptosis and emphasized the feasibility of triggering
cuproptosis for cancer therapy. The recent progress of cancer treatments
based on nanoparticle-induced cuproptosis was then described. Finally,
the challenges and future development directions of the emerging field
of cuproptosis were also discussed.