A scientific review that compiled data from over 4,700 studies revealed that curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, may help keep you safe from certain types of cancers.

In the review, Antonio Giordano, a researcher from Temple University, and Giuseppa Tommonaro from the National Research Council of Italy looked at studies that explored curcumin’s ability to inhibit different cancer cell signaling pathways.

Curcumin’s anti-cancer potential, reviewed

Based on the review, studies have revealed curcumin’s ability to prevent these cancers:

1. Breast cancer – According to the researchers, studies revealed that curcumin helps fight proliferation and invasion of breast cancer cells through downregulating the NF-?B inducing genes. In cancer, NF-?B regulates more than 500 different genes, and it also regulates the expression of proteins that are involved in cellular signaling pathways. The expression of these genes and proteins contributes to the development of the disease. In addition, the team also discovered that curcumin helps inhibit the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 tyrosine kinase (HER2-TK), which helps prevent the development of breast cancer cells. When over-expressed, HER2-TK contributes to the development of many types of cancer, making it one of the targets of drugs used in the therapy of the disease.
2. Lung cancer – The researchers reported that there are studies that revealed that curcumin helps upregulate the expression of microRNA-192-5p and while it suppresses the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, which helps inhibit cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in human non-small cell lung cancer cells. In addition, the team has gathered studies that showed curcumin helps downregulate NF-?B in human lung cancer cell lines.
3. Hematological cancers – These are cancers that affect the blood, bone marrow and lymphatic system. The most common types of hematological cancers are lymphoma, leukemia and multiple myeloma. Curcumin helps in the suppression of cell signaling pathways involved in the development of these cancers. In lymphoma, curcumin exhibited the ability to suppress the expression of EGR-1 gene, which helped repress the growth of B lymphoma cells. In mice studies, curcumin also reduced the carcinogenesis of lymphoma cells by down-regulating pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1. Meanwhile, for leukemia, curcumin has been found to have the ability to downregulate STAT3, AKT, NF-?B and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis protein through exhibiting apoptosis in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia. And for multiple myeloma, curcumin also displayed efficiency, according to various studies. The researchers reported that the phenolic compound exhibited the ability to suppress NF-?B in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients suffering from multiple myeloma.
4. Cancers in the digestive system – The team also discovered that studies revealed curcumin’s ability to prevent cancers in the digestive system, such as gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer and liver cancer. According to the review, curcumin inhibited anti-apoptotic proteins of the Bcl-2 family. It enhanced the expression of p53, Bax, procaspases 3, 8 and 9, contributing to the prevention of the development of gastric cancer tumors. In addition, curcumin was able to inhibit the proliferation of colon cancer cells by decreasing the expression of miR-130a. Moreover, curcumin also helped induce apoptosis and arrest the cycle of pancreatic cancer cells by suppressing the expression of FoxO1. Also, curcumin was also found to have the ability to inhibit the migration and invasion of SK-Hep-1, a highly invasive cell line of human hepatocellular carcinoma.

“As reported in the present review, curcumin exhibits anticancer ability by targeting different cell signaling pathways including growth factors, cytokines, transcription factors, and genes modulating cellular proliferation and apoptosis,” wrote the researchers in the review that is published in the journal Nutrients.

The studies that revealed the ability of curcumin in inhibiting the function of certain cancer cells may provide insight into the development of drugs that can be used to treat cancer. In addition, it may also help reduce the prevalence and mortality of the disease, which is the leading cause of death in the world.

Visit PreventCancer.news to learn more about the anti-cancer properties of curcumin.

Sources:

MDPI.com

WHO.int