Scientists said on Wednesday that a molecule found in a curry ingredient kills esophageal cancer cells in the laboratory, suggesting it might be developed as an anti-cancer treatment, Reuters reported.
Curcumin, a chemical found in the spice turmeric, gives curries a distinctive yellow color, but researchers at the Cork Cancer Research Center in Ireland used it to treat esophageal cancer cells and found it started to kill cancer cells within 24 hours.
According to the study published in the British Journal of Cancer, those cells also began to digest themselves.
Studies in the past suggested curcumin can suppress tumors and that people who eat lots of curry may be less prone to the disease.
However, when ingested, curcumin quickly loses its anti-cancer attributes.
But the study suggested a potential for scientists to develop curcumin as an anti-cancer drug to treat esophageal cancer, according to the lead author of the Irish study, Dr. Sharon McKenna.
Over 500,000 people across the world die each year from cancers of the esophagus and only 12 to 31 percent of sufferers receive five-year survival rate.
The new study showed curcumin caused the cancer cells to die “using an unexpected system of cell messages,” McKenna said.
The researchers said that in most cases the faulty cells die by committing programmed suicide, or apoptosis, which occurs when proteins called caspases are ‘switched on’ in cells.
However, these cells showed no evidence of suicide, and the addition of a molecule that inhibits caspases and stops this “switch being flicked’ made no difference to the number of cells that died, suggesting curcumin attacked the cancer cells using an alternative cell signaling system.
In 2007, U.S. researchers said they had found curcumin might help stimulate immune system cells in the Alzheimer’s disease.
“This is interesting research which opens up the possibility that natural chemicals found in turmeric could be developed into new treatments for esophageal cancer,” said Dr. Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK.
Walker said that rates of esophageal cancer have gone up by more than a half since the 70s.
“This is thought to be linked to rising rates of obesity, alcohol intake and reflux disease so finding ways to prevent this disease is important too.”
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