The Role of Curcumin in Cancer Treatment

Overview

Journal Biomedicines

Specialty Biomedical Engineering

Date 2021 Sep 28

PMID 34572272

Citations 56

Authors

Vasiliki Zoi

Vasiliki Galani

Georgios D Lianos

Spyridon Voulgaris

Athanasios P Kyritsis

George A Alexiou

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Curcumin is a polyphenol extracted from the rhizomes of the turmeric plant, which has anti-inflammatory, and anticancer properties. Chronic inflammation is associated with the development of cancer. Curcumin acts on the regulation of various immune modulators, including cytokines, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and reactive oxygen species (ROS), which partly explains its anticancer effects. It also takes part in the downregulation of growth factors, protein kinases, oncogenic molecules and various signaling pathways, such as nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling. Clinical trials of curcumin have been completed or are ongoing for various types of cancer. This review presents the molecular mechanisms of curcumin in different types of cancer and the evidence from the most recent clinical trials.

Citing Articles

Targeting epithelial-mesenchymal transition signaling pathways with Dietary Phytocompounds and repurposed drug combinations for overcoming drug resistance in various cancers.

Sravani A, Thomas J Heliyon. 2025; 11(3):e41964.

PMID: 39959483 PMC: 11830326. DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2025.e41964.

Fluorescent Microorganism-Based Composite: Enhancing Curcumin Delivery Efficiency and its Antitumor Application in Prostate Cancer.

Yang P, Wang T, Zhang L, Wang L J Fluoresc. 2025; .

PMID: 39954179 DOI: 10.1007/s10895-025-04185-2.

Comprehensive pharmacokinetic profiling and molecular docking analysis of natural bioactive compounds targeting oncogenic biomarkers in breast cancer.

Othman B, Beigh S, Albanghali M, Sindi A, Shanawaz M, Ibahim M Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):5426.

PMID: 39948091 PMC: 11825887. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-84401-4.

Peptide hydrogel-drug conjugates for tailored disease treatment.

Cauwenbergh T, Ballet S, Martin C Mater Today Bio. 2025; 31:101423.

PMID: 39944533 PMC: 11815290. DOI: 10.1016/j.mtbio.2024.101423.

Changes in Lysine Methylation Contribute to the Cytotoxicity of Curcumin in Colon Cancer Cells.

Santarelli R, Curra P, Di Crosta M, Gonnella R, Gilardini Montani M, Cirone M Molecules. 2025; 30(2.

PMID: 39860204 PMC: 11767838. DOI: 10.3390/molecules30020335.

References

Klinger N, Mittal S . Therapeutic Potential of Curcumin for the Treatment of Brain Tumors. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2016; 2016:9324085. PMC: 5078657. DOI: 10.1155/2016/9324085. View

Lantz R, Chen G, Solyom A, Jolad S, Timmermann B . The effect of turmeric extracts on inflammatory mediator production. Phytomedicine. 2005; 12(6-7):445-52. DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2003.12.011. View

Weathers S, Gilbert M . Advances in treating glioblastoma. F1000Prime Rep. 2014; 6:46. PMC: 4047946. DOI: 10.12703/P6-46. View

Yu Y, Shen Q, Lai Y, Park S, Ou X, Lin D . Anti-inflammatory Effects of Curcumin in Microglial Cells. Front Pharmacol. 2018; 9:386. PMC: 5922181. DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00386. View

Ryan J, Heckler C, Ling M, Katz A, Williams J, Pentland A . Curcumin for radiation dermatitis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of thirty breast cancer patients. Radiat Res. 2013; 180(1):34-43. PMC: 3998827. DOI: 10.1667/RR3255.1. View

Schiborr C, Kocher A, Behnam D, Jandasek J, Toelstede S, Frank J . The oral bioavailability of curcumin from micronized powder and liquid micelles is significantly increased in healthy humans and differs between sexes. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2014; 58(3):516-27. DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201300724. View

Belcaro G, Hosoi M, Pellegrini L, Appendino G, Ippolito E, Ricci A . A controlled study of a lecithinized delivery system of curcumin (Meriva®) to alleviate the adverse effects of cancer treatment. Phytother Res. 2013; 28(3):444-50. DOI: 10.1002/ptr.5014. View

Zhang S, Gong Z, Li W, Wang X, Ling T . Antifibrotic effect of curcumin in TGF-β 1-induced myofibroblasts from human oral mucosa. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2012; 13(1):289-94. DOI: 10.7314/apjcp.2012.13.1.289. View

Lamb S, Wilkinson S . Contact allergy to tetrahydrocurcumin. Contact Dermatitis. 2003; 48(4):227. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0536.2003.00062.x. View

10.

Dorai T, Gehani N, Katz A . Therapeutic potential of curcumin in human prostate cancer-I. curcumin induces apoptosis in both androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate cancer cells. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2002; 3(2):84-93. DOI: 10.1038/sj.pcan.4500399. View

11.

Hu S, Xu Y, Meng L, Huang L, Sun H . Curcumin inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis of breast cancer cells. Exp Ther Med. 2018; 16(2):1266-1272. PMC: 6090267. DOI: 10.3892/etm.2018.6345. View

12.

Meng R, Wu Z, Xie Q, Cheng J, Zhang B . Preparation and characterization of zein/carboxymethyl dextrin nanoparticles to encapsulate curcumin: Physicochemical stability, antioxidant activity and controlled release properties. Food Chem. 2020; 340:127893. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127893. View

13.

Zanotto-Filho A, Braganhol E, Klafke K, Figueiro F, Terra S, Paludo F . Autophagy inhibition improves the efficacy of curcumin/temozolomide combination therapy in glioblastomas. Cancer Lett. 2014; 358(2):220-231. DOI: 10.1016/j.canlet.2014.12.044. View

14.

Wang J, Wang X, Zheng B, Wang Y, Wang X, Liang B . Curcumin inhibits the growth via Wnt/β-catenin pathway in non-small-cell lung cancer cells. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2018; 22(21):7492-7499. DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_201811_16290. View

15.

Masamune A, Suzuki N, Kikuta K, Satoh M, Satoh K, Shimosegawa T . Curcumin blocks activation of pancreatic stellate cells. J Cell Biochem. 2005; 97(5):1080-93. DOI: 10.1002/jcb.20698. View

16.

Gersey Z, Rodriguez G, Barbarite E, Sanchez A, Walters W, Ohaeto K . Curcumin decreases malignant characteristics of glioblastoma stem cells via induction of reactive oxygen species. BMC Cancer. 2017; 17(1):99. PMC: 5292151. DOI: 10.1186/s12885-017-3058-2. View

17.

Li X, He S, Tian Y, Weiss R, Martin D . Synergistic inhibition of GP130 and ERK signaling blocks chemoresistant bladder cancer cell growth. Cell Signal. 2019; 63:109381. DOI: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2019.109381. View

18.

Hayden M, Ghosh S . NF-κB, the first quarter-century: remarkable progress and outstanding questions. Genes Dev. 2012; 26(3):203-34. PMC: 3278889. DOI: 10.1101/gad.183434.111. View

19.

Hendrayani S, Al-Khalaf H, Aboussekhra A . Curcumin triggers p16-dependent senescence in active breast cancer-associated fibroblasts and suppresses their paracrine procarcinogenic effects. Neoplasia. 2013; 15(6):631-40. PMC: 3664995. DOI: 10.1593/neo.13478. View

20.

Barik A, Mishra B, Shen L, Mohan H, Kadam R, Dutta S . Evaluation of a new copper(II)-curcumin complex as superoxide dismutase mimic and its free radical reactions. Free Radic Biol Med. 2005; 39(6):811-22. DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2005.05.005. View