Curcumin in endometrial cancer

Curcumin, or diferuloylmethane, is the major constituent and the active component in the spice turmeric and is available as food supplement, not as a drug. Curcumin preparations have been used in various clinical trials in cancer or other diseases in doses up to 8 g daily without major side effects and is generally recognised as safe by the FDA.

Curcumin has shown direct effects on tumour cells as well as anti-inflammatory effects. Activity against all phases of cancer development – initiation, promotion, proliferation and metastasis – has been demonstrated in preclinical work. Curcumin has been explored by others in clinical trials both as a preventive and therapeutic agent with promising results.

It is a pleiotropic molecule capable of interacting with numerous molecules involved in inflammation. The anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin include: (1) downregulation of several inflammatory enzymes, (2) inhibition of inflammatory cytokine secretion, and (3) inhibition of inflammation-mediated PD-L1 expression.

Both in vitro cell culture experiments as well as in vivo experiments in mouse models have revealed that curcumin can sensitise tumour cells to other treatments, such as the cytocidal effects of radiation and different chemotherapeutic agents. This chemotherapy sensitisation phenomenon has been observed in several cancer types.  

The exploration of curcumin as a therapeutic anti-cancer agent has been severely hampered by its poor systemic availability. Consequently, efforts have been dedicated to the development of alternative formulations of curcumin to enhance its bio-availability. Meriva is an optimized formulation.