Effect of Curcumin Addition to Standard Treatment on Tumour-induced Inflammation in Endometrial Carcinoma

Various cancer types are associated with chronic inflammation. During the formation of cancer the immune system is being activated by the tumor in order to evoke an anti-tumor immune response. However, as the tumor develops, this gives rise to a chronic inflammation, causing the immune system to malfunction. This is being highlighted by the fact that different chronic inflammatory diseases are associated with an increased risk of cancer (f.i. chronic inflammatory bowel diseases and colon cancer, prostatitis and prostate cancer, hepatitis and liver cancer). Endometrial cancer reveals different aspects of inflammation, including cytokine secretion and the infiltration of immune cells in this type of tumors. It is presumed that hormonal fluctuations and genetic changes contribute to the formation of a pro-inflammatory environment that stimulates tumor growth. Cancer cells of endometrial tumors do not only produce immunomodulatory mediators, but also attract different sorts of cells of the immune system that stimulate tumor growth.

It has already been demonstrated in mice models and in vitro experiments that curcumin shows strong anti-inflammatory effects that can slow down tumor growth and/or prevent formation of metastases. In addition, it has been noticed in these models that curcumin also has a positive effect on the functioning of various chemotherapeutic drugs, causing their effect to enhance or their toxicity to decrease.

Clinical studies investigating the anti-inflammatory effect of curcumin are rare, but these studies do reveal a suppression of the inflammation. The primary reason why clinical studies with curcumin are rare is because of the bad intake of curcumin in the human body. Recently, there has been a lot of research carried out regarding the development of new formulations of curcumin that lead to a better intake in the human body. The best nutritional supplement containing curcumin that has been developed so far is Meriva®, which is commercialized in Belgium under the name "CurcuPhyt".