Curcumin as an adjuvant to breast cancer treatment

• Published in: Anti-cancer agents in medicinal chemistry Vol. 15; no. 5; p. 647
• Main Authors: Kumar, Parveen, Kadakol, Almesh, Shasthrula, Prashanth Krishna, Mundhe, Nitin Arunrao, Jamdade, Vinayak Sudhir, Barua, Chandana C, Gaikwad, Anil Bhanudas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 01.01.2015
• Subjects: Animals; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Breast Neoplasms - drug therapy; Breast Neoplasms - pathology; Cell Cycle - drug effects; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; Curcumin - therapeutic use; Female; Humans
• ISSN: 1875-5992
• DOI: 10.2174/1871520615666150101125918

Cancer is the second largest leading cause of death worldwide and breast cancer is the most prevailing cause of mortality among all cases of malignant neoplastic disease in adult females. The incidence rate of breast malignant neoplastic disease is predominantly higher in Western women, when compared to women in Asian nations. The definitive reason for this conflict is even unknown, but dietary factors have been conceived to account for approximately 30% of cancers in Western nations. It has been hypothesized that ethnicity, including use of a variety of spices in the food would be a major reason. Among all spices, turmeric (Curcuma longa) has been proven for its better anticancer potential. In this review different molecular mechanisms including cell cycle arrest; G0/G1 and/or G2/M phase cell cycle arrest by up-regulating Cdk inhibitor, p21/WAF/CIPI and p53, inhibition of transcriptional factors; NFκB, AP-1, TNFα, IL, STAT-3, and PPAR-γ, downstream gene regulation; c-myc, Bcl-2, COX-2, NOS, Cyclin D1, TNFα, interleukins and MMP-9, growth factors; bFGF, EGF, GCSF, IL-8, PDGF, TGFα, TNF, VEGF and cell adhesion molecules; fibronectin, vitronectin, and collagen which are involved in angiogenesis and metastasis, alsothe effectiveness of curcumin, when given in combination with chemotherapeutics like cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, mitomycin etc. in treating breast cancer have been reviewed.