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Therapeutic Potential of Curcumin in Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer: Current Status and Future Perspectives

Pancreatic cancer is among the leading cause of deaths due to cancer with extremely poor prognosis. Gemcitabine is being used in the treatment of patient with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), although, the response rate is bellow 12%. A recent phase III trial revealed that FOLFIRINOX could be an option for the treatment of metastatic PDAC patients, although it is associated with increased toxicity. Therefore, identification of novel agents that either improves gemcitabine activity, within novel combinatorial approaches, or with a better efficacy than gemcitabine is warranted. The antitumor activity of curcumin in several tumors, including prostate, breast and colorectal cancers have investigated. A recent phase II trial explored the effects of curcumin in advanced pancreatic cancer patient. They found that oral curcumin was well tolerated. Another trial showed the activity of 8,000 mg of curcumin in combination with gemcitabine in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. This review summarizes the current knowledge about possible molecular mechanisms of curcumin in PDAC with particular emphasis on preclinical/clinical studies in pancreatic cancer treatment. J. Cell. Biochem. 118: 1634–1638, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.