Curcumin and endometrial carcinoma: an old spice as a novel agent

Figures & data

Figure 1 Effect of curcumin on different molecular targets in endometrial carcinoma.

Table 1 Summary of the studies, ordered by date and listing the dose, administration mode, and the effects of curcumin against different endometrial carcinoma cell lines, zebrafish, and rodent models

Cell line/model	Dose/administration mode of curcumin	Molecular targets/effect(s)	Result(s)	Reference
Ishikawa cells	15–30 μmol/L	Downregulates MMP-2 mRNA	Inhibition of proliferation and invasion	Sun et al^Citation36
– Ishikawa cells – HEC-1 cells	– LC, IC50=52.8 μM – LC IC50=80.8 μM	– Downregulates NF-κB proteins – Decreases caspase-3 and MMP-9	– Inhibition of proliferation – Suppression of motility – Induction of apoptosis	Xu et al^Citation39
– Zebrafish (tumor model assay; injected with Ishikawa or HEC-1 cells)	– Injected with Ishikawa cells into perivitelline cavities, LC=15 μM – Injected with HEC-1 cells into perivitelline cavities, LC=30 μM	– Downregulates NF-κB proteins
– Ishikawa cells	CUR-M 1–15 μM (IC50)	– Downregulates survivin and PARP – Downregulates TNF and IL-6 – Upregulates IL-10	– Induction of apoptosis – Reduction of inflammation – Reduction of angiogenesis	Kumar et al^Citation37
– Ishikawa cells – HEC-1B cells – Primary human endometrial adenocarcinoma cells	– 5.9 μM (IC50) – 5.9 μM (IC50) – 17.9 μM (IC50)	– Enhances expression of Slit-2 – Downregulates CXCR4, SDF-1, and MMP2/9	– Inhibition of migration – Inhibition of proliferation – Reduction in tumor volume by fivefold compared to control	Sirohi et al^Citation44
– Rodent model NOD-SCID mice (injected with Ishikawa cells)	– 50 mg/kg body weight per day (inter-peritoneal injection)
HEC-1A	– Curcumin (25 μM) and Rau 008 (120 μM) – Curcumin (25 μM) and Rau 010 (120 μM) – Curcumin (100 μM) and Rau 018 (30 μM) – Curcumin (75 μM) and tamoxifen (60 μM) – Curcumin (100 μM) and 17β-estradiol (30 μM)	Reduces ALP activity	Inhibition of proliferation	Pereira et al^Citation55
– Ishikawa cells – HEC-1B cells	10–30 μM	– Obstructs ERK signaling pathways – Inhibits MMP2/9 expression	Inhibition of migration and invasion	Chen et al^Citation45
– Ishikawa cells – HEC-1B cells – RL-95-2 cells – SK-UT-1B cells	– 1–20 μM HO-3867	– Decreases the phosphorylation of STAT-3 proteins	Induction of apoptosis	Tierney et al^Citation50
– BALB/c nude mice (injected with Ishikawa cells)	– 50 and 100 ppm of HO-3867 (mixed with animal feed)
RL-952 cells	10–100 μmol/L	Reduces AR expression	– Inhibition of proliferation – Induction of apoptosis	Feng et al^Citation26
Ishikawa cell line	10–30 μM	Inhibits TREK-1	Inhibition of proliferation	Patel et al^Citation43
– Ishikawa cells – RL-95-2 cells	10–50 μM	– Inhibits IL-6 expression – Overexpresses PIAS-3 – Downregulates SOCS-3 – Suppresses JAK-STAT pathway	Inhibition of tumor cell growth	Saydmohammed et al^Citation51
Nude mice injected with RL-952 cells	– Curcumin 1 μg/day + letrozole 1 μg/day – Curcumin 50 mg/(kg⋅day) + letrozole 10 μg/day (injected subcutaneously on the cervicum and dorsum)	Inhibits Bcl-2 proteins	Induction of apoptosis	Liang et al^Citation48,Citation49
HEC-1A cells	20–100 μM	Attenuates Ets-1 and Bcl-2 proteins	Induction of apoptosis	Yu and Shah^Citation53
HEC-1-A	50 and 100 μM	Causes an increase in the G2/M phases	– Inhibition of proliferation – Induction of apoptosis	Wei et al^Citation54

Abbreviations: AR, androgen receptor; CUR-M, curcumin-loaded mixed micelles; LC, liposomal curcumin.

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