Versatile role of curcumin and its derivatives in lung cancer therapy

Abstract

Lung cancer is a main cause of death all over the world with a high incidence rate. Metastasis into neighboring and distant tissues as well as resistance of cancer cells to chemotherapy demand novel strategies in lung cancer therapy. Curcumin is a naturally occurring nutraceutical compound derived from Curcuma longa (turmeric) that has great pharmacological effects, such as anti‐inflammatory, neuroprotective, and antidiabetic. The excellent antitumor activity of curcumin has led to its extensive application in the treatment of various cancers. In the present review, we describe the antitumor activity of curcumin against lung cancer. Curcumin affects different molecular pathways such as vascular endothelial growth factors, nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB), mammalian target of rapamycin, PI3/Akt, microRNAs, and long noncoding RNAs in treatment of lung cancer. Curcumin also can induce autophagy, apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest to reduce the viability and proliferation of lung cancer cells. Notably, curcumin supplementation sensitizes cancer cells to chemotherapy and enhances chemotherapy‐mediated apoptosis. Curcumin can elevate the efficacy of radiotherapy in lung cancer therapy by targeting various signaling pathways, such as epidermal growth factor receptor and NF‐κB. Curcumin‐loaded nanocarriers enhance the bioavailability, cellular uptake, and antitumor activity of curcumin. The aforementioned effects are comprehensively discussed in the current review to further direct studies for applying curcumin in lung cancer therapy.

Metabolic Anti-Cancer Effects of Melatonin: Clinically Relevant Prospects

“…Naturally occurring phytochemicals have numerous beneficial effects on human health [ 127 , 128 , 129 ]. They exhibit anticancer efficacy through the regulation of molecular cascades associated with cancer initiation, promotion and progression, including those for angiogenesis [ 130 , 131 , 132 , 133 ], hypoxia [ 134 ], metabolism [ 44 ], metastasis [ 135 ], apoptosis [ 136 , 137 ] and epigenetic machinery [ 138 , 139 , 140 ]. Zhang et al [ 141 ] evaluated the combined anticancer effects of melatonin and epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG) in the HCC HepG2 cell line.…”

Clinical effects of curcumin in enhancing cancer therapy: A systematic review

“…Curcumin has this promising capability to increase the effectiveness of radiotherapy in the treatment of lung cancer by targeting different signalling pathways such as epidermal growth factor receptor and NF κB. Curcumin-containing nanocarriers increase bioavailability, cell uptake, and curcumin antitumor activity [87,88].…”

Natural Products, Alone or in Combination with FDA-Approved Drugs, to Treat COVID-19 and Lung Cancer

“…Curcumin is considered an ideal scaffold for lung cancer drug discovery due to its potent antitumor effects against NSCLC [ 168 ]. In particular, several crucial molecular pathways involved in the efficacy of curcumin as an anti-lung cancer drug involve the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), EGFR, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathways [ 169 ]. Nonetheless, the biomedical application of curcumin is currently hindered by its poor aqueous solubility and low bioavailability [ 170 ].…”