Molecular Mechanism of Curcumin and Its Analogs as Multifunctional Compounds against Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most common malignant tumors with a poor prognosis and high mortality. Surgical resection is the most effective treatment for PC; however, only a minority of patients have resectable tumors. Chemotherapy is the primary treatment for PC. Curcumin is a natural chemical substance obtained from plants with a wide range of pharmacological activities. Research evidence suggests that curcumin can influence PC development through multiple molecular mechanisms. The synthesis of novel curcumin analogs and preparation of curcumin nano-formulations are effective strategies to overcome the low bioavailability of curcumin in the treatment of PC. This review aims to summarize the mechanisms of action of curcumin in preclinical and clinical studies on PC and research progress in enhancing its bioavailability.

Disclosure Statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.

Data Availability Statement

Data openly available in a public repository that issues datasets with DOIs.

Additional information

Funding

This work was co- funded by Sichuan Science and technology program(2020JDRC0114, 2020YFH0164,2021YJ0252), “Xinglin scholar” Research Premotion Project of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine(XSGG2019016,JSZX005), “100 Talent Plan” Project of Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (No. [2020] 42), National training program for innovative backbone talents of traditional Chinese Medicine (No. 128 [2019] of the State Office of Traditional Chinese Medicine) and Science and technology development fund of Hospital of Chengdu University of traditional Chinese Medicine (19SX01, 20YY12, 19LW19, 20YY12).

Notes on contributors

Qun Huang

As the co-first authors of the manuscript, Qun Huang and Ya Zhang participated in the design of the manuscript concept and research and the drafting and writing of the paper. Liuying Li and Hong Zhang are the co-corresponding authors of the manuscript. They both participated in the design of the manuscript, revised it significantly, and critically reviewed the manuscript. At the same time, they were responsible for reviewing and agreeing on all versions of the article before submission, during revision, the final version accepted for publication, and any significant changes introduced at the proofing stage. Yanlin Zheng is responsible for data acquisition, analysis. Hongjing Yang is responsible for the summary of the data. Yang Yang is responsible for agreeing the submitted manuscript with journal requirements. Ya Mo agree to take responsibility and be accountable for the contents of the article and share responsibility to resolve any questions raised about the accuracy or integrity of the published work.

Ya Zhang

As the co-first authors of the manuscript, Qun Huang and Ya Zhang participated in the design of the manuscript concept and research and the drafting and writing of the paper. Liuying Li and Hong Zhang are the co-corresponding authors of the manuscript. They both participated in the design of the manuscript, revised it significantly, and critically reviewed the manuscript. At the same time, they were responsible for reviewing and agreeing on all versions of the article before submission, during revision, the final version accepted for publication, and any significant changes introduced at the proofing stage. Yanlin Zheng is responsible for data acquisition, analysis. Hongjing Yang is responsible for the summary of the data. Yang Yang is responsible for agreeing the submitted manuscript with journal requirements. Ya Mo agree to take responsibility and be accountable for the contents of the article and share responsibility to resolve any questions raised about the accuracy or integrity of the published work.

Yanlin Zheng

As the co-first authors of the manuscript, Qun Huang and Ya Zhang participated in the design of the manuscript concept and research and the drafting and writing of the paper. Liuying Li and Hong Zhang are the co-corresponding authors of the manuscript. They both participated in the design of the manuscript, revised it significantly, and critically reviewed the manuscript. At the same time, they were responsible for reviewing and agreeing on all versions of the article before submission, during revision, the final version accepted for publication, and any significant changes introduced at the proofing stage. Yanlin Zheng is responsible for data acquisition, analysis. Hongjing Yang is responsible for the summary of the data. Yang Yang is responsible for agreeing the submitted manuscript with journal requirements. Ya Mo agree to take responsibility and be accountable for the contents of the article and share responsibility to resolve any questions raised about the accuracy or integrity of the published work.

Hongjing Yang

As the co-first authors of the manuscript, Qun Huang and Ya Zhang participated in the design of the manuscript concept and research and the drafting and writing of the paper. Liuying Li and Hong Zhang are the co-corresponding authors of the manuscript. They both participated in the design of the manuscript, revised it significantly, and critically reviewed the manuscript. At the same time, they were responsible for reviewing and agreeing on all versions of the article before submission, during revision, the final version accepted for publication, and any significant changes introduced at the proofing stage. Yanlin Zheng is responsible for data acquisition, analysis. Hongjing Yang is responsible for the summary of the data. Yang Yang is responsible for agreeing the submitted manuscript with journal requirements. Ya Mo agree to take responsibility and be accountable for the contents of the article and share responsibility to resolve any questions raised about the accuracy or integrity of the published work.

Yang Yang

As the co-first authors of the manuscript, Qun Huang and Ya Zhang participated in the design of the manuscript concept and research and the drafting and writing of the paper. Liuying Li and Hong Zhang are the co-corresponding authors of the manuscript. They both participated in the design of the manuscript, revised it significantly, and critically reviewed the manuscript. At the same time, they were responsible for reviewing and agreeing on all versions of the article before submission, during revision, the final version accepted for publication, and any significant changes introduced at the proofing stage. Yanlin Zheng is responsible for data acquisition, analysis. Hongjing Yang is responsible for the summary of the data. Yang Yang is responsible for agreeing the submitted manuscript with journal requirements. Ya Mo agree to take responsibility and be accountable for the contents of the article and share responsibility to resolve any questions raised about the accuracy or integrity of the published work.

Ya Mo

As the co-first authors of the manuscript, Qun Huang and Ya Zhang participated in the design of the manuscript concept and research and the drafting and writing of the paper. Liuying Li and Hong Zhang are the co-corresponding authors of the manuscript. They both participated in the design of the manuscript, revised it significantly, and critically reviewed the manuscript. At the same time, they were responsible for reviewing and agreeing on all versions of the article before submission, during revision, the final version accepted for publication, and any significant changes introduced at the proofing stage. Yanlin Zheng is responsible for data acquisition, analysis. Hongjing Yang is responsible for the summary of the data. Yang Yang is responsible for agreeing the submitted manuscript with journal requirements. Ya Mo agree to take responsibility and be accountable for the contents of the article and share responsibility to resolve any questions raised about the accuracy or integrity of the published work.

Liuying Li

As the co-first authors of the manuscript, Qun Huang and Ya Zhang participated in the design of the manuscript concept and research and the drafting and writing of the paper. Liuying Li and Hong Zhang are the co-corresponding authors of the manuscript. They both participated in the design of the manuscript, revised it significantly, and critically reviewed the manuscript. At the same time, they were responsible for reviewing and agreeing on all versions of the article before submission, during revision, the final version accepted for publication, and any significant changes introduced at the proofing stage. Yanlin Zheng is responsible for data acquisition, analysis. Hongjing Yang is responsible for the summary of the data. Yang Yang is responsible for agreeing the submitted manuscript with journal requirements. Ya Mo agree to take responsibility and be accountable for the contents of the article and share responsibility to resolve any questions raised about the accuracy or integrity of the published work.

Hong Zhang

As the co-first authors of the manuscript, Qun Huang and Ya Zhang participated in the design of the manuscript concept and research and the drafting and writing of the paper. Liuying Li and Hong Zhang are the co-corresponding authors of the manuscript. They both participated in the design of the manuscript, revised it significantly, and critically reviewed the manuscript. At the same time, they were responsible for reviewing and agreeing on all versions of the article before submission, during revision, the final version accepted for publication, and any significant changes introduced at the proofing stage. Yanlin Zheng is responsible for data acquisition, analysis. Hongjing Yang is responsible for the summary of the data. Yang Yang is responsible for agreeing the submitted manuscript with journal requirements. Ya Mo agree to take responsibility and be accountable for the contents of the article and share responsibility to resolve any questions raised about the accuracy or integrity of the published work.