Curcumin, nature's most potent cytostatic agent

Curcumin's therapeutic benefits have been demonstrated in over 20 different types of cancer, including breast cancer, haematological cancers (most commonly lymphoma, leukaemia, and multiple myeloma), lung cancer, digestive system cancers (gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and liver cancer), skin cancer, brain tumors, prostate cancer, and others. Here are just a few examples:

Curcumin appears to prevent skin cancer, delay tumor onset, and may have chemopreventive potential, according to recent studies. Curcumin was found to stop the growth of skin cancer cells in a study that was published a few years ago in the journal "Cancer”. Curcumin has also been shown to inhibit the viability of cancer cells and trigger their death. The higher the dose, the stronger the cytostatic effect of curcumin.

Curcumin has anticancer, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, lipid-regulating, antidepressant, and anti-arthritic properties. Curcumin has been shown in numerous cellular and experimental studies to be beneficial in the treatment of leukaemia.

Clinically, administering curcumin to patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (3.5 g for 6 weeks) had a significant chemosensitizing effect. Patients who received both curcumin and Imatinib had a better prognosis with low NO levels than patients who received only Imatinib. Curcumin treatment significantly slowed tumor growth in xenograft guinea pigs with chronic myeloid leukemia by releasing miR-21-enriched exosomes into plasma, according to a preclinical study.

Because of its ability to regulate oncogenes (p53, egr-1, c-myc, bcl-XL, etc.), transcription factors (NF-kB, STAT-3, and AP-1), protein kinases (MAPK), and enzymes (COX and LOX), curcumin may be an effective adjuvant in the treatment of solid organ tumors. Lung cancer is the most common type of cancer in the world and the leading cause of cancer deaths.

Curcumin has shown antitumor effects in lung cancer, and its lack of systemic toxicity and broad mechanism of action make it ideal as adjuvant therapy for lung cancer resistant to currently available therapies.

Curcumin shows potent inhibitory effects in breast cancer, the most common type of cancer among women worldwide, and sensitizes cell lines to anti-cancer drugs. Furthermore, it can induce apoptosis in cancer cell lines regardless of hormone receptor expression. Curcumin inhibits breast cancer stem cell proliferation, which is a key factor influencing cancer recurrence. Inhibiting breast cancer stem cell proliferation suppresses metastasis and reattachment, ultimately decreasing tumor formation. Curcumin is thus a potent anticancer agent in breast cancer, and its concurrent use with other cancer therapies seems promising.

In prostate cancer, curcumin can inhibit the viability, proliferation, survival, migration/invasion, and adhesion of various human cells. Curcumin inhibited both androgen-sensitive and androgen-insensitive prostate cancer cells by targeting a variety of signalling cascades responsible for cell function. Curcumin's antiproliferative, antisurvival, and antimigratory effects in prostate cancer may be attributed to suppression of the Akt/mTOR and Ras/MAPK signalling pathways, decreased NF-kB activation, increased cleavage of proapoptotic caspases and PARP, and inhibition of members of the Bcl-2 anti-apoptotic protein family. Curcumin may also cause cell cycle arrest and boost autophagy in prostate cancer cell lines.

Curcumin has been shown to be effective against gastric cancer angiogenesis, proliferation, aggression, dissemination, spread, and apoptosis. This compound's antitumor properties are primarily attributed to the inhibition of signalling transductions. Curcumin also inhibits the growth of Helicobacter pylori bacterium. It is widely acknowledged that employing a multimodal approach to treat gastric cancer can significantly increase clinical status and survival rates.