Haldi can check breast cancer

'Haldi' can check breast cancer

Washington: A new study by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has shown that curcumin, the main ingredient of turmeric and the compound that gives curry its mustard-yellow color, may halt spread of breast cancer. Published in the recent issue of the journal Clinical Cancer Research, the study states that curcumin inhibits metastasis to the lungs of mice with breast cancer. The researchers found that the nontoxic natural substance not only repelled progression of the disease to the lungs, but also appeared to reverse the effects of paclitaxel (Taxol(tm)), a commonly prescribed chemotherapy for breast cancer that may trigger spread of the disease with use over a long period of time. Because Taxol is so toxic, it activates a protein that produces an inflammatory response that induces metastasis. Curcumin suppresses this response, making it impossible for the cancer to spread. In fact, adding curcumin to Taxol actually enhances its effect.

Curcumin breaks down the dose, making the therapy less toxic and just as powerful while delivering the same level of efficacy. "We are excited about the results of the study and the possible implications for taking the findings into the clinic in the next several years. At this time, advanced breast cancer is a difficult foe to fight with few proven treatments available after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy," said Dr. Bharat Aggarwal, professor of cancer medicine. Researchers studied 60 mice with breast cancer, which were randomly assigned to one of four groups: control group, Taxol only, curcumin only and the combination of Taxol and curcumin. After the tumors grew to 10 mm, they were surgically removed, and the mice were fed a powdered curcumin diet. Macroscopic lung metastasis, or metastasis that is visible to the naked eye, was seen in 96 percent of the mice in the control group.

Treatment using Taxol alone only modestly reduced the incidence of metastases, while the group using curcumin alone and curcumin plus Taxol significantly reduced both the incidence and numbers of visible lung metastases. Microscopic metastasis, or metastasis that is visible only when using a microscope, was found in the lungs of 28 percent of mice treated with the combination of curcumin and Taxol, and there was no macroscopic disease present. The micrometastases present consisted of only a few cells, suggesting that the combination inhibited the growth of breast cancer tumor cells that were in the lung before the tumors were removed.
Oct 15, 2005