Turmeric Cancer Treatment

Turmeric is a common spice in India that has become commonplace in many countries. Turmeric has several health benefits, including as a complementary treatment for some types of cancer.

Function

• Turmeric contains a compound called curcumin, which has antioxidant, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric and can be obtained as a supplement on its own.

Effects

• Turmeric slows the spread of cancer (metastasis), inhibits angiogenesis--the formation of new blood vessels to feed tumors--and induces apoptosis (cancer cell death).

Benefits

• In countries with higher intakes of turmeric, there are fewer cases of colon cancer and leukemia. Researchers are trying to determine if there is a link.

Chemotherapy

• According to the American Cancer Society, research suggests turmeric increases the efficacy of the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel but reduces the efficacy of other chemotherapy drugs like camptothecin, mechlorethamine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide.

Expert Insight

• Bharat Aggarwal, Ph.D, chief of the cytokine research laboratory at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, led a study published in the journal Clinical Cancer Research that showed a reduction in the cases of breast cancer metastasizing to the lungs in a group of rats which ate turmeric every day.