NaturalNews) Promising new research has demonstrated once again that the
ingredient curcumin, which is the principal curcuminoid of the widely used
Indian spice turmeric, a member of the ginger family, is a major cancer fighter,
this time proving effective against esophageal cancer.
According to
researchers at the University of Kansas' Cancer Center and Medical
Center, study results indicate that "curcumin inhibits the growth of esophageal
cancer cell lines," though how it works "is not well understood."
The
results of the study are especially noteworthy given that esophageal cancer is
the eighth most common type of cancer in the world and the sixth most
lethal.
This 'novel' cancer treatment works wonders
In the
U.S. alone, between four and 10 persons for every 100,000 die from esophageal
cancer every year. The disease mostly strikes men over the age of 50, according
to published statistics.
In 2011, the American Cancer Society
estimated that 16,980 Americans (13,450 men and 3,530 women) were diagnosed
with the disease. The organization also estimated that a majority of those
diagnosed with esophageal cancer - about eight in 10 - would
die.
"Esophageal adenocarcinoma, the major form of esophageal cancer in
the U.S., is the most rapidly rising cancer in the western world," said a
summary of the study's results. "It is generally diagnosed at a late stage and
has a poor prognosis, with a five-year survival of less than 10
percent."
"Although the current treatment includes chemotherapy,
radiation therapy, and, if possible, esophagogastric resection, many patients
with esophageal adenocarcinoma experience progression of disease despite such
treatment, suggesting that such tumors are resistant to standard therapy," the
summary said.
Enter curcumin therapy. Other
"novel" forms of treatment and therapy have not proven as effective, say
researchers, especially in patients who have advanced cancer.
"The
magnitude of this problem mandates the need for novel therapeutic agents,
specifically the use of agents for chemoprevention. This is most attractive for
esophageal adenocarcinoma since a pre-malignant condition, Barrett's esophagus,
is a well-recognized lesion," says the summary.
In short, a common form
of cancer that is resistant
to current standard treatments is being bested by treatment with an age-old
spice.
"Curcumin seems to have multiple molecular targets and its
enhanced potency in cancer in various cancer cell lines and xenograft tumors
renders it a strong candidate for therapeutic applications for esophageal cancer
as well as other cancers and inflammatory disease states," said the
study.
Dramatic reductions in the spread of cancer
Previous
research has also found
that curcumin - and its primary element, turmeric - have been found to reduce
cancer growth and brain tumors as much as 81 percent.
"Used by ancient
Chinese and Indian systems of medicine, curcumin has been shown to reduce brain
tumor size by 81 percent in 9 out of 11 studies," say researchers from the
University of California-Los Angeles.
"Turmeric and curcumin are
both extremely cheap methods of boosting your health, and are readily available
almost worldwide," said Mike Barrett, co-founder of alternative health
organization, Natural Society. "The ubiquitous nature of turmeric both in the form of
supplementation and spice sets up turmeric to be the next vitamin D over the
next few years. As more medical professionals begin to recognize the benefits of
turmeric and curcumin, a major media blitz will follow as it did regarding the
multiple known effects of vitamin D."
In the UCLA study, 21 participants
who had contracted head and neck cancer saw the spread of their disease halted
after being given chewable supplements containing 1,000 mg of curcumin
each.
"Curcumin, the main component in the spice turmeric, suppresses a
cell signaling pathway that drives the growth of head and neck cancer, according
to a pilot study using human saliva by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson
Comprehensive Cancer Center," the National Cancer Institute, part of
the National Institutes of Health, said, confirming the university's
results.
Sources:
http://www.plosone.org
http://www.cancer.gov
http://www.prnewswire.com
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/038184_curcumin_cancer_stem_cells_research.html#ixzz2Dy9lfa00Curcumin's ability to wage war on cancer stem cells further verified by research Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/038184_curcumin_cancer_stem_cells_research.html#ixzz2DyABNqES
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