Curcumin: Epigenetic Modulation and Tumor Immunity in Antitumor Therapy.

Curcumin (turmeric) is the main ingredient of the Chinese herbal turmeric rhizome, used to treat tumors, diabetes, inflammation, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic syndrome, and liver diseases. The antitumor effects of curcumin have received even more attention. One of the main mechanisms of the antitumor effects includes inhibition of tumor invasion and migration, induction of tumor cell apoptosis, and inhibition of various cell signaling pathways. It has been found that the antitumor biological activity of curcumin in the body is associated with epigenetic mechanisms. That also implies that curcumin may act as a potential epigenetic modulator to influence the development of tumor diseases. The immune system plays an essential role in the development of tumorigenesis. Tumor immunotherapy is currently one of the most promising research directions in the field of tumor therapy. Curcumin has been found to have significant regulatory effects on tumor immunity and is expected to be a novel adjuvant for tumor immunity. This paper summarizes the antitumor effects of curcumin from four aspects: molecular and epigenetic mechanisms of curcumin against a tumor, mechanisms of curcumin modulation of tumor immunotherapy, reversal of chemotherapy resistance, and a novel drug delivery system of curcumin, which provide new directions for the development of new antitumor drugs.