Looks like M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is finally proving what alternative medicine proponents like myself have been saying for a number of years…curcumin really does fight cancer : ) In their research, curcumin, a compound found in the popular Indian spice turmeric (think curry,) and also a strong natural anti-inflammatory, was shown to halt the spreading of breast cancer cells to the lungs of mice. Trials have already started in humans. Of course, as they point out in the study, there’s no need to test the safety of turmeric because it’s been a staple part of the Indian diet for generations, and earlier studies have already shown, or at least suggested, that people with diets rich in turmeric also develop fewer cases of breast, lung, colon & prostate cancer.

According to Reuters:

Earlier research showed that curcumin, an antioxidant, can help prevent tumors from forming in the laboratory.

For
their study, Aggarwal and colleagues injected mice with human breast
cancer cells — 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 percent 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 percent of animals that got Taxol alone and 95 percent of those that got no treatment developed lung tumors.

I think it’s really exciting to see these results being published from such an esteemed institution as M.D. Anderson, but as Reuters points out, the chances of any drug company choosing to throw millions of dollars into testing a natural product that they can’t even patent, is basically nil. This, unfortunately, is the sad state of affairs for a number of natural agents, but hearing Reuters actually say it (something, once again, that a number of alternative medicine proponents have been saying for years,) is an eye-opener for sure.

Now I’m not a doctor or researcher, but one caveat that they don’t mention in this article, and something I think anyone considering taking turmeric should be aware of, is that I’ve read at least one study (Somasundaram et al.) that suggests that curcumin might block the cancer-fighting effects of some chemotherapy drugs. Until there are more studies confirming curcumin’s anti-cancer effects in patients with various cancers, and on various chemotherpy regimens, I wouldn’t personally suggest taking turmeric along with chemo unless you’ve spoken with your doctor.