Abstract
Lung cancer is among the most common cancers with a high mortality rate worldwide. Despite the significant advances in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, lung cancer prognoses and survival rates remain poor due to late diagnosis, drug resistance, and adverse effects. Therefore, new intervention therapies, such as the use of natural compounds with decreased toxicities, have been considered in lung cancer therapy. Curcumin, a natural occurring polyphenol derived from turmeric (Curcuma longa) has been studied extensively in recent years for its therapeutic effects. It has been shown that curcumin demonstrates anti-cancer effects in lung cancer through various mechanisms, including inhibition of cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis, induction of apoptosis, epigenetic alterations, and regulation of microRNA expression. Several in vitro and in vivo studies have shown that these mechanisms are modulated by multiple molecular targets such as STAT3, EGFR, FOXO3a, TGF-β, eIF2α, COX-2, Bcl-2, PI3KAkt/mTOR, ROS, Fas/FasL, Cdc42, E-cadherin, MMPs, and adiponectin. In addition, limitations, strategies to overcome curcumin bioavailability, and potential side effects as well as clinical trials were also reviewed.
Highlights
Lung cancer is a highly malignant tumor and one of the most common types of cancer worldwide.In 2012, it was estimated that 1.8 million new lung cancer cases represent approximately 12.9% of all cancers diagnosed worldwide [1]
Lung cancer is classified into two types which include non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) that account for approximately 80% and 20% of all lung cancer cases respectively [3]
Wu (2015) showed that curcumin inhibited the JAK2/Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway in NSCLC NCI-H460 cells, which resulted in downregulation of cyclin D1 and c-myc that serve as regulators of cell cycle progression and transcriptional factor respectively
Summary
Lung cancer is a highly malignant tumor and one of the most common types of cancer worldwide. Further investigations and research on lung cancer mechanisms, non-toxic therapeutics drugs, and new intervention targets are significant as the understanding in this context would prove useful in lung cancer therapy. Several studies in vitro and in vivo showed curcumin demonstrates anti-cancer effects on lung cancer through mechanisms such as inhibition of cell proliferation, induction of apoptosis, epigenetics changes, and regulation of microRNAs expression [20]. In this current review, modulation of multiple molecular targets and signaling pathways including STAT3, EGFR, FOXO3a, TGF-β, eIF2α, COX-2, Bcl-2, PI3KAkt/mTOR, ROS, Fas/FasL, Cdc, E-cadherin, MMPs, and adiponectin were discussed. Strategies to overcome curcumin bioavailability, limitations, and potential side effects, as well as clinical trials were reviewed
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