Curcumin: A new candidate for melanoma therapy?
Melanoma remains among the most lethal cancers and, in spite of great attempts that have been made to increase the life span of patients with metastatic disease, durable and complete remissions are rare. Plants and plant extracts have long been used to treat a variety of human conditions; however, in many cases, effective doses of herbal remedies are associated with serious adverse effects. Curcumin is a natural polyphenol that shows a variety of pharmacological activities including anti-cancer effects, and only minimal adverse effects have been reported for this phytochemical. The anti-cancer effects of curcumin are the result of its anti-angiogenic, pro-apoptotic and immunomodulatory properties. At the molecular and cellular level, curcumin can blunt epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and affect many targets that are involved in melanoma initiation and progression (e.g., BCl2, MAPKS, p21 and some microRNAs). However, curcumin has a low oral bioavailability that may limit its maximal benefits. The emergence of tailored formulations of curcumin and new delivery systems such as nanoparticles, liposomes, micelles and phospholipid complexes has led to the enhancement of curcumin bioavailability. Although in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that curcumin and its analogues can be used as novel therapeutic agents in melanoma, curcumin has not yet been tested against melanoma in clinical practice. In this review, we summarized reported anti-melanoma effects of curcumin as well as studies on new curcumin formulations and delivery systems that show increased bioavailability. Such tailored delivery systems could pave the way for enhancement of the anti-melanoma effects of curcumin.
Department of Medical Biotechnology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Hamed
H
Mirzaei
Department of Anatomical Sciences, Golestan University of Medical Sciences, Gorgan, Iran.
Gholamreza
G
Naseri
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran.
Ramin
R
Rezaee
Razi Herbal Medicines Research Center and Department of pharmaceutical biotechnology, Faculty of pharmacy, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran.
Mohsen
M
Mohammadi
Biochemistry of Nutrition Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Science, Mashhad, Iran.
Zarrin
Z
Banikazemi
Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Hamid Reza
HR
Mirzaei
Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Hossein
H
Salehi
Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.|Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
Mostafa
M
Peyvandi
Department of Dermatology and the Yale Cancer Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
John M
JM
Pawelek
Biotechnology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Amirhossein
A
Sahebkar
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003474:Curcumin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000188:drug therapy*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D003474:Curcumin
cancer; curcumin; melanoma; therapy