title: In vivo and in vitro effects of curcumin on head and neck carcinoma: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) contributes globally to a great number of deaths and morbidity, in spite of new therapeutic strategies. There is a great need of new drugs that are significantly effective and less deleterious to the patients' general health. In this sense, phytotherapy is a tendency, with results pointing to its use as a chemo-preventive and adjuvant therapy. Therefore, the objective of this systematic review was to investigate the effects of curcumin on proliferation and survival of HNSCC.
  
  
  METHODS
  The search was conducted on six databases: Cochrane, LILACS, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PubMed, and Web of Science. In vitro and in vivo studies that evaluated the effects of curcumin on cell viability, tumor growth, cell cycle and/or cell death pattern in HNSCC cell lines or animal models were selected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 525 initially gathered studies, 30 met the inclusion criteria. These studies demonstrated that curcumin induces cytotoxicity, apoptosis (via intrinsic pathway), and cell cycle arrest in G2/M phase in HSNCC cell lines. It also reduces tumor measurements in animal models. These events were mostly studied through MTT assay, flow cytometry, and cell cycle- and apoptosis-related proteins expression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This systematic review demonstrated that curcumin is effective on HNSCC cell proliferation and survival, reinforcing the currently available evidence that curcumin could be an adjuvant drug in HNSCC treatment.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Oral Histopathology, Health Sciences Faculty, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gabriel Álvares
authors.initials: GÁ
authors.lastname: Borges
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Oral Histopathology, Health Sciences Faculty, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daniela Fortunato
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Rêgo
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Oral Histopathology, Health Sciences Faculty, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil.|Hospital Sírio-Libanês, Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Daniele Xavier
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Assad
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Diagnosis, School of Dentistry, University of Campinas, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ricardo D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Coletta
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Brazilian Centre for Evidence-Based Research, Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Brazil.|School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
authors.forename: Graziela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Luca Canto
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Oral Histopathology, Health Sciences Faculty, University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eliete Neves Silva
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Guerra
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy*; D059447:Cell Cycle Checkpoints / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003474:Curcumin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D003474:Curcumin
keywords: curcumin; head and neck neoplasms; phytotherapy; systematic review