A trial looking at curcumin and FOLFOX for advanced bowel cancer (CUFOX)

In continuation of  my update on curcumin

An upcoming clinical trial conducted by the Cancer Research UK and National Institute for Health Research Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) in Leicester, England will evaluate the effectiveness of curcumin, a compound that occurs in turmeric, as a means of improving the results of standard chemotherapy for metastatic colon cancer. The compound has been found to enhance chemotherapy's ability to kill colon cancer cells in previous research involving cell cultures. 

Doctors often treat bowel cancer that has spread with chemotherapy. The combination of chemotherapy they usually use is called FOLFOX. It is made up of the drugs folinic acid (leucovorin), fluorouracil (5FU) and oxaliplatin. But this doesn’t always work very well.  And it often causes side-effects such as numbness and tingling in hands and feet (peripheral neuropathy). This means the doctors sometimes need to lower the dose or even stop chemotherapy, so they are keen to improve treatment.

Curcumin is a plant extract found in the spice turmeric and is found in many everyday foods. We know from research that curcumin can help shrink tumours in the laboratory. It has also been used in several studies involving patients with a range of conditions, including cancer.

Colorectal cancer patients are commonly treated with a combination of three chemotherapy drugs, yet approximately half of those treated fail to respond and those who do respond are frequently plagued with side effects such as severe nerve pain.

"Once bowel cancer has spread it is very difficult to treat, partly because the side effects of chemotherapy can limit how long patients can have treatment," commented chief investigator William Steward, who is the ECMC director at the University of Leicester. "The prospect that curcumin might increase the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy is exciting because it could mean giving lower doses, so patients have fewer side effects and can keep having treatment for longer."

The trial will recruit 40 patients with colon cancer that has metastasized to the liver. Three-fourths of the participants will be administered curcumin supplements for one week prior to being treated with standard chemotherapy drugs, while the remainder will receive chemotherapy alone. 

More : http://cancerhelp.cancerresearchuk.org/trials/trial-looking-at-curcumin-and-folfox-for-advanced-bowel-cancer