Potential applications of curcumin and its novel synthetic analogs and nanotechnology-based formulations in cancer prevention and therapy
Open Access
- 1 January 2011
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Chinese Medicine
- Vol. 6 (1), 31
- https://doi.org/10.1186/1749-8546-6-31
Abstract
Curcumin has attracted great attention in the therapeutic arsenal in clinical oncology due to its chemopreventive, antitumoral, radiosensibilizing and chemosensibilizing activities against various types of aggressive and recurrent cancers. These malignancies include leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, brain cancer, melanoma and skin, lung, prostate, breast, ovarian, liver, gastrointestinal, pancreatic and colorectal epithelial cancers. Curcumin mediates its anti-proliferative, anti-invasive and apoptotic effects on cancer cells, including cancer stem/progenitor cells and their progenies, through multiple molecular mechanisms. The oncogenic pathways inhibited by curcumin encompass the members of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR and erbB2), sonic hedgehog (SHH)/GLIs and Wnt/β-catenin and downstream signaling elements such as Akt, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs). In counterbalance, the high metabolic instability and poor systemic bioavailability of curcumin limit its therapeutic efficacy in human. Of great therapeutic interest, the selective delivery of synthetic analogs or nanotechnology-based formulations of curcumin to tumors, alone or in combination with other anticancer drugs, may improve their chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic efficacies against cancer progression and relapse. Novel curcumin formulations may also be used to reverse drug resistance, eradicate the total cancer cell mass and improve the anticarcinogenic efficacy of the current anti-hormonal and chemotherapeutic treatments for patients with various aggressive and lethal cancers.Keywords
This publication has 198 references indexed in Scilit:
- Curcumin enhances dasatinib‐induced inhibition of growth and transformation of colon cancer cellsInternational Journal of Cancer, 2010
- Activation of the p38 pathway by a novel monoketone curcumin analog, EF24, suggests a potential combination strategyBiochemical Pharmacology, 2010
- Targeting miRNAs involved in cancer stem cell and EMT regulation: An emerging concept in overcoming drug resistanceDrug Resistance Updates, 2010
- Curcumin inhibits the side population (SP) phenotype of the rat C6 glioma cell line: Towards targeting of cancer stem cells with phytochemicalsCancer Letters, 2010
- RETRACTED: Cyclodextrin-complexed curcumin exhibits anti-inflammatory and antiproliferative activities superior to those of curcumin through higher cellular uptakeBiochemical Pharmacology, 2010
- Enhanced Glutathione Efflux from Astrocytes in Culture by Low Extracellular Ca2+ and CurcuminNeurochemical Research, 2010
- Targeting breast stem cells with the cancer preventive compounds curcumin and piperineBreast Cancer Research and Treatment, 2009
- Curcumin Inhibits the Activity of ABCG2/BCRP1, a Multidrug Resistance-Linked ABC Drug Transporter in MicePharmaceutical Research, 2008
- Murine Prostate Cancer Inhibition by Dietary Phytochemicals—Curcumin and PhenyethylisothiocyanatePharmaceutical Research, 2008
- CURCUMIN: THE INDIAN SOLID GOLDAdvances in experimental medicine and biology, 2006