Curry ingredient fights skin cancer - U.S. study





Posted: July 12, 2005


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The compound that makes curry yellow could help fight skin cancer, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.


They said curcumin, found in the spice turmeric, interferes with melanoma cells.

Tests in laboratory dishes show that curcumin made melanoma skin cancer cells more likely to self-destruct in a process known as apoptosis.

The same team has found that curcumin helped stop the spread of breast cancer tumor cells to the lungs of mice.

Bharat Aggarwal of the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and colleagues treated three batches of melanoma cells, known as cell lines, with curcumin at different doses and for varying times.

The curcumin suppressed two proteins that tumor cells use to keep themselves immortal, the researchers write in next month's issue of the journal Cancer.

"Based on our studies, we conclude the curcumin is a potent suppressor of cell viability and inducer of apoptosis in melanoma cell lines," Aggarwal's team wrote.

"Future investigation to determine the effects of curcumin in animal models of melanoma and clinical trials are planned."

Earlier research has shown that curcumin, which acts as an antioxidant, can help prevent tumors from forming in the laboratory.

Aggarwal said people who eat plenty of turmeric have lower rates of some cancers, although the spice itself has not been shown to reduce cancer risk in people.




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Rhonda,

Be careful with Curcumin, which is really tumeric, as studies have shown that while it has anti-cancer properties, it also decreases the effacy of many chemo....in fact one study showed that it practically neutralized the chemo. I would take curcumin only when you are off chemo.

Regards,
Al

Thank you Al. Yes, I completed chemo on 5/18/05 and, while doing chemo I stayed away from supplements but, was unaware that certain spices could have this effect as well (I haven't started using them yet). Thank you again for pointing this out not only to me but, to others that may be currently in chemo as I would hate for someone to have an adverse affect to all their hard work.