Curcumin as a Cancer Treatment
- A new study found that a drug containing the antioxidant curcumin — a key ingredient in turmeric — may be able to treat certain head and neck cancers
- The drug reduced inflammation and a type of harmful bacteria in patients
- Study authors are now planning a phase 2 trial to learn more about how the drug — called APG-157 — can be used
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) found that a plant-based drug called APG-157, which contained curcumin, could improve patients’ immune responses to treatment when given in lozenge form. The new research was published in Cancer, a journal from the American Cancer Society.
Read MoreThe results also suggest that APG-157 “may be even more effective when combined with immune modulating drugs that are already being used to treat cancer.”
Cytokines proteins, which the APG-157 drug actively reduced, are involved in inflammation. The treatment also reduced the amount of a dangerous bacteria group called Bacteroids for patients. An abundance of this bacteria is often found in people with oral cancer.
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Study authors now plan to do a phase 2 of the trail, Dr. Wang says, to get a better idea of how APG-157 can be used.
“We will study the effect of APG-157 when given on a longer-term basis, to larger numbers of patients with oral cancer. We hope to demonstrate that APG-157 will suppress the growth of these cancers,” she says.
Turmeric and Cancer Treatment
While this study’s results are certainly promising, the idea that turmeric — or the ingredients that make it up — are some kind of magical prevention tactic or treatment for cancer has not been backed up by science. What we do know is that turmeric is an anti-inflammatory, and inflammation can lead to a handful of health problems over time.
Dietician Krista Maruschak explains what we know about the benefits of turmeric
In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Cleveland Clinic dietician Krista Maruschak explained that incorporating turmeric — or other spices that have anti-inflammatory properties like cinnamon and ginger — into your diet is a good idea, but people should be wary or taking turmeric in supplement form.
“We don’t know enough about turmeric supplements to say that they are of any benefit to your cancer risk or to you while you already have cancer, Maruschak said. “Not to mention, a lot of times, supplements that people can buy can be full of things that aren’t actually what they’re saying they are … So, I would never take turmeric in supplement form, just because we don’t know yet what the doses are, how much you should take, things like that.”
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