Therapeutic Potential of Curcumin in Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer: Current Status and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is among the leading cause of deaths due to cancer with extremely poor prognosis. Gemcitabine is being used in the treatment of patient with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), although, the response rate is bellow 12%. A recent phase III trial revealed that FOLFIRINOX could be an option for the treatment of metastatic PDAC patients, although it is associated with increased toxicity. Therefore, identification of novel agents that either improves gemcitabine activity, within novel combinatorial approaches, or with a better efficacy than gemcitabine is warranted. The antitumor activity of curcumin in several tumors, including prostate, breast and colorectal cancers have investigated. A recent phase II trial explored the effects of curcumin in advanced pancreatic cancer patient. They found that oral curcumin was well tolerated. Another trial showed the activity of 8,000 mg of curcumin in combination with gemcitabine in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. This review summarizes the current knowledge about possible molecular mechanisms of curcumin in PDAC with particular emphasis on preclinical/clinical studies in pancreatic cancer treatment. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 1634-1638, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Toll like receptor signaling pathway as a potential therapeutic target in colorectal cancer

“…although, further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms of TLRs and novel TLR inhibitors in CRC. Moreover, the application of different cytotoxic agents is related with enhanced toxicity, indicating the need for assessing natural compound, such as curcumin or crocin (Avan et al, ; Bahrami, Amerizadeh, et al, ; Bahrami, Amerizadeh, et al, ; Bahrami, Hassanian, et al, ; Bahrami, Hassanian, et al, ; Bahrami, Hesari, et al ; Hosseini et al, ; Rahmani et al, ; Vatandoost et al, ). Moreover parallel targeting of other pathway (e.g., PI3K/Akt, Wnt/b‐catenin, RAS/MAP pathways) are warranted to overcome cell resistance or prevent the possible feedback loop between these pathways in colorectal cancer.…”

Phytosomal curcumin inhibits tumor growth in colitis‐associated colorectal cancer

“…Curcumin, a bioactive compound in the turmeric, active ingredient found in the plant Curcuma longa, is well known for its anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activities (Hosseini et al, 2017;Shafiee et al, 2017). Moreover, curcumin has been found to have anti-tumor characteristics (Aggarwal & Sung, 2009), and its inhibitory effects on various mechanisms have been shown in different cancers.…”

The 9p21 locus: A potential therapeutic target and prognostic marker in breast cancer

“…With respect to these results, and the effect of P16 in stromal fibroblast near the cancer cells, it may be an interesting marker of prognosis, and a potential therapeutic target in a different subtype of breast cancer. Moreover, targeting of 9P21 locus, in particular ANRIL, in combination with other key dysregulated pathways (e.g., AKT/PI3 K, Wnt) (Bahrami, Hasanzadeh, Hassanian, et al, ; Bahrami, Hassanian, et al, ; Bahrami, Khazaei, et al, ; Hosseini et al, ; Tajbakhsh et al, , ) or via miRNAs (Bahrami, Hasanzadeh, ShahidSales, et al, ) could provide a novel insight on the treatment of breast cancer. Also valuation of the prognostic and predictive value of genes expressed on this area or genes that are involved in the modulation of this locus are warranted in a larger population and multi center setting in combination with functional analysis to explore the role of this locus in breast cancer.…”