Preclinical studies for the combination of paclitaxel and curcumin in cancer therapy

Abstract

Cancer is one of the most common causes of death and remains the first in China and the second in the US. The common treatments for cancer include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy, while chemotherapy remains one of the most important treatments. However, the efficacy of chemotherapy is limited due to drug induced-toxicities and resistance, particularly multiple drug resistance (MDR). Therefore, discovery and development of novel therapeutic drugs and/or combination therapy are urgently needed to reduce toxicity and improve efficacy. Paclitaxel has been widely used to treat various cancers including cervical, breast, ovarian, brain, bladder, prostate, liver and lung cancers. However, its therapeutic efficacy is limited and MDR is a major obstacle. Recently, numerous preclinical studies have shown that the combination of paclitaxel and curcumin may be an ideal strategy to reverse MDR and synergistically improve their therapeutic efficacy in cancer therapy. This review mainly focuses on the current development and progress of the combination of paclitaxel and curcumin in cancer therapy preclinically.

Melatonin disturbs SUMOylation‐mediated crosstalk between c‐Myc and nestin via MT1 activation and promotes the sensitivity of paclitaxel in brain cancer stem cells

“…Recently combination therapy is attractive to reduce severe toxicity in normal cells and resistance in cancers by Paclitaxcel . Hence, the potential of melatonin as a Paclitaxcel sensitizer was examined in X02 cells.…”

“…Recently combination therapy is attractive to reduce severe toxicity in normal cells and resistance in cancers by Paclitaxcel. 76,77 Hence, the potential of melatonin as a Paclitaxcel sensitizer was examined in X02 cells. Current study reveals that melatonin synergistically promotes the sensitivity of Paclitaxcel to increase cytotoxicity, sub-G1 accumulation, apoptotic body morphology and decrease the expression of Netin and c-Myc in X02 cells, indicating the potency of melatonin as a Paclitaxcel sensitizer.…”

Terpenoids, Cannabimimetic Ligands, beyond the Cannabis Plant

“…Among the challenges associated to cancer treatment, it is the development of multidrug resistance (MDR), which negatively impacts the effect of chemotherapy drugs, and consequently treatment success. It was previously proposed that one of the viable solutions to overcome MDR is to combine two chemotherapeutic drugs, acting synergistically to target multiple key pathways to inhibit tumor progression [187,188]. In this context, the combination of β-elemene with other chemotherapeutic agents (i.e., cisplatin and doxorubicin) and other therapeutic adjuvant has demonstrated great potential to inhibit tumor cells and tumor growth.…”

Krebstherapie mit Kurkuma

“…Curcumin sensibilisierte darüber hinaus Krebszellen auf Paclitaxel [77], Adriamycin [86] und Irinotecan [35]. Doch müssen konfirmatorische Studien noch die Wirkgröße von Curcumin bei den einzelnen Tumoren festlegen.…”