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Targ Oncol (2014) 9:295310 DOI 10.1007/s11523-014-0321-1
REVIEW
Curcumin and lung cancera review
Hiren J. Mehta & Vipul Patel & Ruxana T. Sadikot
Received: 5 September 2013 /Accepted: 9 May 2014 /Published online: 21 May 2014 # Springer International Publishing Switzerland (outside the USA) 2014
Abstract Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is the most important component of the spice turmeric and is derived from the rhizome of the East Indian plant Curcuma longa. Curcumin has been used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine for centuries, as it is nontoxic and has a variety of therapeutic properties including antioxidant, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic activities. Recently, curcumin has been widely studied for its anticancer properties via its effects on a variety of biological pathways involved in apoptosis, tumor proliferation, chemo- and radiotherapy sensitization, tumor invasion, and metastases. Curcumin can be an effective adjunct in treating solid organ tumors due to its properties of regulating oncogenes like p53, egr-1, c-myc, bcl-XL, etc.; transcription factors like NF-kB, STAT-3, and AP-1; protein kinases like MAPK; and enzymes like COX and LOX. Lung cancer is the most common malignancy worldwide and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Seventy-five percent of lung cancer presents at an advanced stage where the existing treatment is not very effective and may result in tremendous patient morbidity. As a result, there is a significant interest in developing adjunctive chemotherapies to augment currently available treatment protocols, which may allow decreased side effects and toxicity without compromising therapeutic efficacy. Curcumin is one such potential candidate, and this review presents an overview of the current in vitro and in vivo studies of curcumin in lung cancer.
Keywords Lung cancer . Curcumin . p53 . egr-1 . c-myc . bcl-XL . NF-kB . STAT-3 . AP-1 . MAPK . COX . LOX
Introduction
Lung cancer is the most common malignancy worldwide and a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. In 2012, it is estimated that 160,300 deaths (87,700 in men, 72,600 in women) from lung cancer would occur in the USA [1]. According to the American Cancer Society, roughly 570,000 patients died of cancer in USA in the year 2010. Lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer mortality accounting for 28 % of these deaths. Unfortunately, 75 % of patients with lung cancer present with...