Curcumin's Potential in Treating HER-2-Positive Breast Cancer
Author Information
Author(s): Lai Hung-Wen, Chien Su-Yu, Kuo Shou-Jen, Tseng Ling-Ming, Lin Hui-Yi, Chi Chin-Wen, Chen Dar-Ren
Primary Institution: Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center, Changhua Christian Hospital
Hypothesis
Curcumin can downregulate HER-2 oncoprotein and inhibit key signaling pathways, potentially aiding in the treatment of HER-2-overexpressed breast cancer.
Conclusion
Curcumin shows potential as a treatment for HER-2-overexpressed breast cancer, although it is not more effective than herceptin alone.
Supporting Evidence
- Curcumin decreased cell growth in various breast cancer cell lines.
- Curcumin treatment reduced the phosphorylation of Akt, MAPK, and expression of NF-κB.
- In the xenograft model, curcumin effectively decreased tumor size.
- The combination of curcumin with herceptin did not show a better effect than herceptin alone.
- The combination of taxol and curcumin had an antitumor effect comparable to taxol and herceptin.
Takeaway
Curcumin might help treat a type of breast cancer that has too much HER-2, but it doesn't work better than a common medicine called herceptin.
Methodology
The study used both in vitro cell line analysis and in vivo xenograft models to assess the effects of curcumin and herceptin on breast cancer cells.
Limitations
The study only tested one fixed dose protocol for herceptin and curcumin, and the serum concentration of the drugs was unknown.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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