Potential Therapeutic Targets of Curcumin, Most Abundant Active Compound of Turmeric Spice: Role in the Management of Various Types of Cancer.

Background Curcumin, an active compound of turmeric spice is one of the most-studies natural compounds and have been widely recognized as chemopreventive agents. Several molecular mechanisms have been proven, curcumin and its analogs play a role in cancer prevention through modulating various cell signaling pathways as well as inhibition of carcinogenesis process. Objective To study the potential role of curcumin in the management of various types of cancer through modulating cell signalling molecules based on available literature and recent patents. Methods A wide-ranging literature survey was performed based on Scopus, PubMed, PubMed central and Google scholar for the implication of curcumin in cancer management along with special emphasis on human clinical trials. Moreover, patents were searched through www.google.com/patents, www.freepatentsonline.com and www.freshpatents.com. Result Recent studies based on cancer cells have proven that curcumin have potential effects against cancer cells, prevent the growth of cancer and act as cancer therapeutic agents. Besides, curcumin exerted anticancer effects through inducing apoptosis, activating tumor suppressor genes, cell cycle arrest, inhibiting tumor angiogenesis, initiation, promotion and progression stages of tumor. It was established that co-treatment of curcumin and anti-cancer drugs could induce apoptosis and also play a significant role in the suppression of the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. Conclusion Accumulating evidences suggest that curcumin has potentiality to inhibit cancer growth, induced apoptosis and modulate various cell signalling pathways molecules. Well-designed clinical trials of curcumin based on human subjects are still needed to establish the bioavailability, mechanism of action, efficacy and safe dose in the management of various cancers.