The Multifaceted Role of Curcumin in Cancer Prevention and Treatment

Molecules

Muthu K. Shanmugam²  Grishma Rane²  Madhu Mathi Kanchi⁴  Frank Arfuso³  Arunachalam Chinnathambi¹  M. E. Zayed¹  Sulaiman Ali Alharbi¹  Benny K. H. Tan²  Alan Prem Kumar²  Gautam Sethi² 

[1] Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia; E-Mails:;Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117597, Singapore; E-Mails:;School of Biomedical Sciences, CHIRI Biosciences Research Precinct, Curtin University, Western Australia 6009, Australia; E-Mail:;Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, Centre for Translational Medicine, 14 Medical Drive, #11-01M, Singapore 117599, Singapore; E-Mail:

关键词: curcumin;    inflammation;    cancer;    NF-κB;   

DOI  :  10.3390/molecules20022728

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Despite significant advances in treatment modalities over the last decade, neither the incidence of the disease nor the mortality due to cancer has altered in the last thirty years. Available anti-cancer drugs exhibit limited efficacy, associated with severe side effects, and are also expensive. Thus identification of pharmacological agents that do not have these disadvantages is required. Curcumin, a polyphenolic compound derived from turmeric (Curcumin longa), is one such agent that has been extensively studied over the last three to four decades for its potential anti-inflammatory and/or anti-cancer effects. Curcumin has been found to suppress initiation, progression, and metastasis of a variety of tumors. These anti-cancer effects are predominantly mediated through its negative regulation of various transcription factors, growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, protein kinases, and other oncogenic molecules. It also abrogates proliferation of cancer cells by arresting them at different phases of the cell cycle and/or by inducing their apoptosis. The current review focuses on the diverse molecular targets modulated by curcumin that contribute to its efficacy against various human cancers.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.