TURMERIC
AND CANCER
Studies
are showing that turmeric may help fight breast cancer, colon cancer,
multiple myeloma and possibly lymphoma. Moreover, turmeric is a great
anti-inflammatory substitute for NSAID's such as ibuprofen, etc.
Turmeric is a yellow spice used widely in Indian
cooking. US researchers have found that curcumin, an active compound
found in turmeric, helped stop the spread of breast cancer tumour
cells to the lungs in mice.
Researchers from the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
presented their findings regarding curcumin found in the spice turmeric
in Philadelphia at the U.S. Defense Department's "Era of Hope"
Breast Cancer Research Program.
"Tests have already started in people, too", said Bharat
Aggarwal of the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at the University
of Texas Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, who led the study. Here
you don't need to worry about safety. The only thing we have to worry
about is efficacy," Aggarwal said in a telephone interview. "Curcumin,
as you know, is very much an essential part of the Indian diet,"
he added.
"What's exciting about this agent is that it seems to have both
chemopreventive and therapeutic properties. If we can demonstrate
that it is efficacious in humans, it could be of tremendous value,
but we're a long way from being able to make any recommendations yet,"
Aggarwal said.
Earlier research showed that curcumin, which acts as an antioxidant,
can help prevent tumors from forming in the laboratory. For their
study, Aggarwal and colleagues injected mice with human breast cancer
cells in a batch of cells grown from a patient whose cancer had spread
to the lungs. The resulting tumors were allowed to grow, and then
surgically removed, to simulate a mastectomy, Aggarwal said. Then
the mice either got no additional treatment; curcumin alone; the cancer
drug paclitaxel, which is sold under the brand name Taxol; or curcumin
plus Taxol.
Half the mice in the curcumin-only group and 22 per cent of those
in the curcumin plus Taxol group had evidence of breast cancer that
had spread to the lungs, Aggarwal said in a study to be presented
to a breast cancer research meeting in Philadelphia. But 75 per cent
of animals that got Taxol alone and 95 per cent of those that got
no treatment developed lung tumours. Aggarwal said earlier studies
suggest that people who eat diets rich in turmeric have lower rates
of breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer.
His team would like to try giving curcumin to women who know they
have a high risk of breast cancer such as those who have a mother
or sister with the disease. Curcumin could be of "tremendous
value" if it's shown to be effective in humans, "but we're
a long way from being able to make any recommendations yet, says researcher
Bharat Aggarwal, PhD, in a news release.
Some alternative doctors have started to prescribe extracted curcumin
along with either warm coconut milk or heavy cream (better absorbed
that way according to Dr. Stephen Martin PhD of www.grouppekurosawa.com).
One of my breast cancer clients takes 1 Tbs (5 grams) with ¼
cup of warm coconut milk twice a day, but you may want to consult
with Dr. Martin regarding proper dosages.
For more recommendations,dosages, and information on turmeric go to:
http://www.breastcancerchoices.org/curcumin.html.
CURCUMIN MAY HELP COLON CANCER
John Hopkins researchers published in the August issue of Clinical
Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the results of a small study with
five patients, who have an inherited form of precancerous polyps in
the lower bowel known as familial adenomatous polyposis, of FAP.
These patients were treated over an average of six months with regular
doses of curcumin, the chemical found in turmeric, and quercetin,
an antioxidant in onions. The average number of polyps dropped 60.4
percent, and the average size dropped by 50.9 percent, according to
a team led by gastroenterologist Francis M. Giardiello, a professor
at the School of Medicine, and Marcia Cruz-Correa, a visiting professor
from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine.
"We believe this is the first proof of principle that these substances
have significant effects in patients with FAP," Giardiello said.
In the trial, five patients were selected from the Cleveland Clinic
Florida. All had previously had their colons surgically removed; four
of the five retained the rectums, whereas the remaining patient had
had both colon and rectum removed and part of the small intestine
adapted to serve as colon and rectum. All patients had five or more
adenomas in their lower intestinal tract. None of the patients had
taken NSAIDS for more than one week during the three months leading
up to the study.
Participants were examined using a flexible sigmoidoscope before treatment
was initiated and at three-month intervals (range three to nine months)
during treatment. Number and size of polyps were examined at each
visit.
Each patient received 480 milligrams of curcumin and 20 milligrams
of quercetin orally three times a day for six months and was told
not to use NSAIDs for the duration of the study. Three patients followed
treatment as prescribed. One patient did not follow the scheduled
treatment doses between months three and six and was continued on
therapy until the ninth month. Another patient dropped out of the
study after the third month.
A decrease in polyp number was observed in four of the five patients
at three months and four of the four patients at six months.
Side effects were minimal. One patient reported slight nausea and
a sour taste within a couple of hours of taking the pill, an effect
that went away within three days, and a second patient had mild diarrhea
for five days.
From: http://www.jhu.edu/gazette/2006/07aug06/07curry.html.
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