Curcumin as Potential Adjuvant Therapy to Prevent Recurrence in Pterygium Excision.

Abstract

Pterygium is a wing-shaped growth from the conjunctiva and fibrovascular tissue onto the surface of the cornea. It has a high postoperative recurrence rate (which can be as high as 89% and its severity may vary according to the approach adopted and the preoperative conditions). To reduce the postoperative recurrence rate, several surgical techniques have been developed. The pathophysiology of pterygium development is diverse, one of the main factors is the proliferative process initiated by the TGF-mediator. One of the therapies developed to prevent pterygium recurrence is by targeting therapy on the proliferative pathway by adding pterygium surgery with adjuvant MMC therapy. MMC plays a role in inhibiting DNA synthesis, thereby reducing TGF-expression and ultimately inhibiting cell proliferation. Although it can reduce the recurrence rate quite well, MMC has numbers of complications. Therefore, an agent is needed to suppress pterygium proliferation which is relatively safer. Curcumin is a compound derived from the tuber of Curcuma longa L. which includes polyphenols. Curcumin modulates proliferation by stimulating the formation of TGIF which is a negative regulator of TGF-so that it can modulate proliferation.