Update: I have removed the word “clinical” from the title. While there is significant evidence regarding the effect of turmeric on prostate cancer, none of it at this point is from double-blind clinical trials. There are trials currently underway but none currently reported on. I still contend that this is no reason to NOT consider turmeric when dealing with prostate cancer. Many natural cures never get this kind of study due to cost and lack of profit incentive.
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There was a diary posted earlier today by Skeptical Raptor — Turmeric — there is no clinical evidence that it treats, prevents, or cures cancer. This is simply not true with regards to prostate cancer. I was treated rather rudely by the diarist when I commented on my use of cannabis oil, lycopene, and turmeric as my treatment program, with them calling my comment, “pseudoscientific nonsense.” This made me QUITE angry because it was not only insulting, but profoundly untrue as well.
The following is from the National Center for Biotechnical Information at the National Institutes of Health: [Note: Curcumin is the active ingredient in turmeric.]
The initiation of prostate cancer from non-malignant prostate is a relative lengthy process that takes several years and is often related to fatty diet, inflammation, and oxidative stress [88]. The blockade of prostate carcinogenesis at really early stage by the use of chemopreventive molecules found mainly in our diet (fruits, vegetables, spices, seeds) appears then promising. In fact, as we reported here, curcumin is able to prevent prostate cancer initiation or progression as it inhibits inflammation signaling pathway highly implicated in prostate cancer progression through the regulation of NF-κB and cofactors. However, despite the fact that curcumin is well described in several cancer types for its anti-oxidant potential through the induction of phase II enzymes (glutathione S-transferase, heme oxygenase), especially by the regulation of the transcription factor Nrf2 (nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 erythroid) [7, 11, 108], nothing was published until today concerning prostate cancer.
Several data pointed out that curcumin is able to suppress the proliferation of both androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate cancer cell line but also of LNCaP xenografts by interfering with growth factor receptors, cell cycle, angiogenesis, and metastasis potential of prostate cancer cells. This natural compound also promotes the induction of prostate cancer cell death by apoptosis through a well-described cascade of events and could be useful in combination with conventional treatment such as immunotherapy and radiotherapy.
With this in mind, the use of curcumin in diet or as a treatment appears as an alternative, non toxic modality for prostate cancer prevention, treatment or co-treatment with conventional therapy by which the clinician may prevent the progression of prostate cancer to its hormone refractory state or to treat advanced prostate cancer. This also gives a rationale for the prospective of curcumin in translational studies in prostate cancer cells.
In general, turmeric has been found to be effective against several types of cancer cells in vitro — in a dish or test tube, not a living being. The trick in making it effective in vivo (in people) is countering its low bioavailability. One way of doing this is by including 10% ground black pepper with the turmeric. This has been shown to increase absorption significantly.
National Library of Medicine
Besides these natural compounds have been also used to increase the bioavailability of curcumin. One of them is piperine, a major component of black pepper, known as inhibitor of hepatic and intestinal glucuronidation and is also shown to increase the bioavailability of curcumin. This effect of piperine on the pharmacokinetics of curcumin has been shown to be much greater in humans than in rats. In humans, curcumin bioavailability was increased by 2,000% at 45 minutes after co-administering curcumin orally with piperine,
Given these facts, I implore anyone who is considering turmeric as part of their prostate cancer treatment to IGNORE the previous diary despite it authoritative tone.