Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Via F. Delpino 1, 80137 Naples, Italy.
Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET), UOS Naples-Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Via Pietro Castellino 111, 80131 Naples, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Aug 9;24(16):12587. doi: 10.3390/ijms241612587.
Due to the progressive ageing of the human population, the number of cancer cases is increasing. For this reason, there is an urgent need for new treatments that can prolong the lives of cancer patients or ensure them a good quality of life. Although significant progress has been made in the treatment of cancer in recent years and the survival rate of patients is increasing, limitations in the use of conventional therapies include the frequent occurrence of side effects and the development of resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. These limitations are prompting researchers to investigate whether combining natural agents with conventional drugs could have a positive therapeutic effect in cancer treatment. Several natural bioactive compounds, especially polyphenols, have been shown to be effective against cancer progression and do not exert toxic effects on healthy tissues. Many studies have investigated the possibility of combining polyphenols with conventional drugs as a novel anticancer strategy. Indeed, this combination often has synergistic benefits that increase drug efficacy and reduce adverse side effects. In this review, we provide an overview of the studies describing the synergistic effects of curcumin, a polyphenol that has been shown to have extensive cytotoxic functions against cancer cells, including combined treatment. In particular, we have described the results of recent preclinical and clinical studies exploring the pleiotropic effects of curcumin in combination with standard drugs and the potential to consider it as a promising new tool for cancer therapy.
由于人类人口的老龄化进程不断推进，癌症病例的数量正在增加。出于这个原因，迫切需要新的治疗方法，这些方法可以延长癌症患者的生命或确保他们拥有良好的生活质量。尽管近年来在癌症治疗方面取得了重大进展，患者的生存率正在提高，但常规疗法的使用存在局限性，包括副作用频繁发生和对化疗药物产生耐药性。这些局限性促使研究人员研究是否可以将天然药物与常规药物结合使用，以对癌症治疗产生积极的治疗效果。一些天然生物活性化合物，特别是多酚，已被证明对癌症的进展具有有效作用，并且不会对健康组织产生毒性作用。许多研究已经探讨了将多酚与常规药物联合作为一种新的抗癌策略的可能性。事实上，这种联合治疗通常具有协同作用，可以提高药物疗效并减少不良反应。在这篇综述中，我们概述了描述姜黄素协同作用的研究，姜黄素是一种多酚，已被证明对癌细胞具有广泛的细胞毒性作用，包括联合治疗。特别是，我们描述了最近探索姜黄素与标准药物联合使用的多效性作用的临床前和临床研究结果，以及将其视为癌症治疗有前途的新工具的潜力。
