Turmeric Compounds Reduce Side Effects and Make Conventional Cancer Treatments More Effective
Animal studies show that turmeric can help protect cancer patients from damage to healthy skin cells caused by radiation therapy. On the other hand, curcumin helps sensitize cancer cells to radiation therapy, increasing treatment effectiveness and killing more cancer cells. (vi.35)
What Makes Cancer Cells Resistant to Treatment?
Many cancers or acquire resistance to chemotherapy drugs after initial treatment cycles. There are a number of ways cancer cells can resist chemotherapy-induced cell death, including increasing the levels of: (vi.169-170)
- Transporter proteins that pump the chemo drug out of the cell before it can kill it.
- Proteins that help resist cell death.
Some cancers have stem cells that are intrinsically resistant to chemotherapy drugs and radiation. These cancer stem cells (CSCs) constantly renew themselves and generate new tumor cells. CSCs have been found in the following types of cancer: (vi.171)
- Acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
- Brain tumors
- Breast cancer
- Colon cancer
- Head and neck tumors
- Liver cancer
- Melanoma
- Ovarian cancer
Effects of Turmeric Compounds Combined with Conventional Treatments
Turmeric compounds such as curcumin, resveratrol, quercetin, and fisetin can help block these chemoresistant proteins. Curcumin from turmeric also works synergistically with other natural compounds, chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy cancer drugs to increase effectiveness and provide better outcomes for cancer patients than single therapy substances by themselves. (vi.12, 172-174)
Some examples of how the compounds in turmeric may be able to increase effectiveness and reduce the adverse side effects of conventional cancer treatment include:
| CANCER OR CONDITION | TREATMENT & EFFECT OF TURMERIC COMPOUND | COMPOUND AND STUDY TYPE |
|---|---|---|
INFERTILITY CAUSED BY CHEMOTHERAPY FOR MANY CANCERS |
METHOTREXATE Reduces damage to ovaries from methotrexate. (vi.175) |
CURCUMIN Fruit fly |
|
RADIATION AND CHEMOTHERAPY In combination with alpha-tocopherol vitamin E and sunflower oil, curcumin helps prevent painful mouth ulcers caused by radiation cancer treatment as well as upper respiratory tract infections that can arise because of them. (vi.176-178) |
CURCUMIN Animal; Lab |
|
|
CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE Reduces DNA mutations in bone marrow caused by cyclophosphamide. (vi.179) |
CURCUMIN Animal |
|
|
GENISTEIN Increases effectiveness of genistein in blocking breast tumors caused by estrogenic pesticides. (vi.180) |
CURCUMIN Lab |
|
|
PACLITAXEL (TAXOL) Suppresses NF-κB induced by Taxol. (vi.181) Blocks chemoresistance. (vi.181) Increases cancer cell death. (vi.181) Helps prevent metastasis. (vi.181) |
CURCUMIN Animal; Lab |
|
|
5-FLUOROURACIL Reduces treatment resistance. (vi.124) Counters toxic side effects of 5-fluorouracil. (vi.124) Increases effectiveness of drug. (vi.124) |
Animal |
|
|
CAPECITABINE Increases sensitivity to treatment. (vi.81) |
CURCUMIN Animal |
|
|
CELECOXIB Improves effectiveness of this COX-2 inhibiting drug. (vi.181) |
CURCUMIN Lab |
|
|
5-FLUOROURACIL Boosts effectiveness of drug. (vi.124) |
Animal |
|
|
CISPLATIN Increases cancer cell susceptibility to treatment. (vi.78) |
Lab |
|
|
SULFINOSINE Down-regulates MDR proteins. (vi.181) Boosts cancer cell susceptibility to treatment. (vi.181) |
CURCUMIN Lab |
|
|
GEMCITABINE 8 g/day oral curcumin significantly increased survival time in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. (vi.182) |
CURCUMIN Human |
|
|
DOCETAXEL Increases death of chemoresistant prostate cancer cells. (vi.181) |
Lab |
|
|
PHENETHYL ISOTHIOCYANATE (PEITC) Suppresses cancer-promoting transcription factors NF-κB and Akt. (vi.181) Blocks tumor growth. (vi.181) Increases death of cancer cells. (vi.181) |
CURCUMIN Animal; Lab |
|
RADIATION Stops cancer cells in the phases of the cell growth cycle where chemotherapy is more effective in this cancer. (vi.42) |
CURCUMIN Lab |
Combining Natural Compounds with Turmeric Compounds Increases Effectiveness
As the studies above indicate, compounds in turmeric can enhance the effectiveness and/or reduce some of the side effects of conventional cancer treatments. On the other hand, studies show that natural compounds can improve the effectiveness of turmeric's main compound, curcumin. (vi.12, 172-174, 183-185)
For example, piperine (from black pepper) dramatically improves the bioavailability of curcumin in the body. And the omega-3 fatty acid DHA significantly increases the amount of curcumin taken up by breast cancer cells, raising its anticancer potency. Xanthorrhizol, another natural compound found in turmeric, synergistically enhances the effectiveness of curcumin in killing invasive breast cancer cells. (183-185)
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