Curcumin stops cancer cell growth, new research confirms

by: | January 11, 2025
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

curcumin-stops-cancer-cell-growth(NaturalHealth365)  Turmeric, a kitchen spice from India and Southeast Asia, has long been treasured by natural healers for its ability to fight inflammation, regulate blood sugar, and combat infections.  But turmeric benefits extend even beyond these traditional uses.  Ongoing research suggests that its active ingredient – a plant pigment known as curcumin – could be a valuable weapon in the fight against cancer.

Many studies have supported turmeric’s anticancer effects, including its ability to reduce the number and size of tumors.  However, studies also revealed a dramatic and encouraging “twist:” turmeric can potentially target several particularly aggressive and lethal forms of cancer while leaving noncancerous cells unharmed.  For instance, recent research has shown that curcumin may help fight colorectal cancer by influencing how cancer cells clean out damaged parts (autophagy) and self-destruct when unhealthy (apoptosis), offering new hope in combating this common and deadly disease.

An international team of scientists concludes that curcumin inhibits an enzyme involved in carcinogenesis

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, Peking University, and Zhejiang University collaborated on a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  The researchers used multiple models to show that turmeric can powerfully inhibit a specific enzyme called DYRK2 (or dual-specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase 2).

The team used cutting-edge X-ray crystallography to obtain 3D images – in which curcumin could be seen binding to the enzyme at the atomic level.  This is significant because binding to and inhibiting DYRK2 impairs the activity of proteasomes – protein complexes involved in cancer development.

The team noted that inhibiting proteasome activity in cancer cells interfered with proliferation, reducing tumors, slower cancer growth, and an overall lessening of the cancer burden.

Curcumin targets the “Achilles heel” of lethal cancers

Some cancers – including triple-negative breast cancer and multiple myeloma – are classified by scientists as “proteasome-addicted,” meaning they are dependent on proteasome complexes.  Impairing the activity of the proteasome inhibits tumor development, leading scientists to theorize that this dependency may well be the “Achilles’ heel” of these aggressive, hard-to-treat cancers.

Pharmaceutical proteasome inhibitors have already been developed and approved, but there is a catch: these medications damage noncancerous cells.  In response, resourceful researchers have been focusing on inhibiting proteasome activity by identifying and manipulating proteasome regulators.

This is where the power of turmeric comes into play.  By depleting DYRK2, curcumin suppresses proteasome activity – with very little damage to healthy cells in the area.  Curcumin strengthens the cancer-fighting effects of pharmaceutical proteasome inhibitors – meaning that smaller dosages – and fewer side effects – may be possible.

When used with carfilzomib – an FDA-approved proteasome inhibitor used to treat multiple myeloma – curcumin increased apoptosis (cancer cell death) – while causing minimal harm to healthy cells.

Curcumin uses multiple pathways to target cancer

If curcumin’s only cancer-fighting abilities were impairing the DYRK2 enzyme and inhibiting proteasome activity, it would still be a promising area for study in cancer prevention and treatment.  However, curcumin has an impressive variety of cancer-fighting pathways.

Curcumin helps inhibit angiogenesis, the growth and development of new blood vessels to nourish and support tumors.  It also “switches off” genes that promote tumor development while helping the immune system identify and destroy malignant cells.

In addition, curcumin can help to protect your DNA from potentially cancer-causing mutations caused by radiation and environmental toxins.  It also suppresses the production of MMPs or matrix metalloproteinases.  These enzymes attack the extracellular matrix and facilitate the invasion of cancer cells.

Finally, by reducing the production of adhesion molecules that cling to cell walls, curcumin stops cancer cells from settling in place – effectively “throwing a monkey wrench” into the ability of cancer cells to metastasize.  Additional research supports curcumin’s effectiveness.

In one study, curcumin supplementation caused a 36 percent reduction in the size of lung tumors.  In another, it caused a 40 percent decrease in the development of colon tumors.  And – in one particularly promising clinical study – curcumin cut the growth rate of prostate-specific androgen (a marker of tumor progression) in half.

How can I take curcumin?

Study co-author Sourav Banerjee, Ph.D., a postdoctoral scholar at UCSD School of Medicine, remarked on curcumin’s “chemical drawbacks,” noting that orally administered curcumin is broken down and eliminated by the human body very quickly.  Dr. Banerjee says, “It (curcumin) needs to be modified to enter the bloodstream and stay in the body long enough to target the cancer.”

This is why experts say that adding turmeric to food may not provide enough bioavailable curcumin to obtain therapeutic results.

The best option currently is to seek a high-quality, high-potency organic curcumin extract standardized to contain at least 95 percent curcuminoids.

Note: Do not attempt to treat cancer or any other serious medical condition with turmeric or curcumin without the guidance of a qualified doctor.  Before supplementing with curcumin, get the go-ahead from your trusted holistic healthcare provider.

Simply put, as scientists continue to discover curcumin’s multiple effects against cancer, this amazing flavonoid seems destined to play a major role in natural cancer therapies and cancer prevention.

Sources for this article include:

NIH.gov

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments