Can curcumin slow cancer growth?

At this time, there isn't enough evidence to recommend curcumin for preventing or treating cancer, but research is ongoing.

Curcumin is a substance found in the spice turmeric. Curcumin has long been used in Asian medicine to treat a variety of illnesses. Now some research suggests that curcumin may help prevent or treat cancer.

Curcumin is thought to have antioxidant properties, which means it may decrease swelling and inflammation. It's being explored as a cancer treatment in part because inflammation appears to play a role in cancer.

Laboratory and animal research suggests that curcumin may prevent cancer, slow the spread of cancer, make chemotherapy more effective and protect healthy cells from damage by radiation therapy.

Studies of curcumin in people are still in the early stages. Clinical trials are underway to investigate curcumin as a way to prevent cancer in people with precancerous conditions, as a cancer treatment, and as a remedy for signs and symptoms caused by cancer treatments.

Research is ongoing, and there isn't enough evidence to recommend curcumin at this time. As always, talk with your doctor before using any herbal supplement, including curcumin. It's known to interfere with certain medications, including some chemotherapy drugs.

From Mayo Clinic to your inbox

Sign up for free and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips, current health topics, and expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.

We use the data you provide to deliver you the content you requested. To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, we may combine your email and website data with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, we will only use your protected health information as outlined in our Notice of Privacy Practices. You may opt out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the email.

Jan. 05, 2024 See more Expert Answers

See also

  1. Health foods
  2. Adenocarcinoma: How this type of cancer affects prognosis
  3. Adjuvant therapy for cancer
  4. Alternative cancer treatments: 11 options to consider
  5. Atypical cells: Are they cancer?
  6. Biological therapy for cancer
  7. Biopsy procedures
  8. Blood Basics
  9. Bone marrow transplant
  10. Bone scan
  11. Cancer
  12. Cancer
  13. Cancer blood tests
  14. Myths about cancer causes
  15. Infographic: Cancer Clinical Trials Offer Many Benefits
  16. Cancer diagnosis: 11 tips for coping
  17. Cancer-related fatigue
  18. Cancer pain: Relief is possible
  19. Cancer-prevention strategies
  20. Cancer risk: What the numbers mean
  21. Cancer surgery
  22. Cancer survival rate
  23. Cancer survivors: Care for your body after treatment
  24. Cancer survivors: Late effects of cancer treatment
  25. Cancer survivors: Managing your emotions after cancer treatment
  26. Cancer survivorship program
  27. Cancer treatment
  28. Cancer treatment myths
  29. Cancer-related fatigue
  30. Cancer-related pain
  31. Cancer-related weakness
  32. CAR-T cell therapy
  33. Chemo targets
  34. Chemoembolization
  35. Chemotherapy
  36. Chemotherapy and hair loss: What to expect during treatment
  37. Chemotherapy and sex: Is sexual activity OK during treatment?
  38. Chemotherapy nausea and vomiting: Prevention is best defense
  39. Chemotherapy side effects: A cause of heart disease?
  40. Complete blood count (CBC)
  41. Cough
  42. CT scan
  43. Cancer-related diarrhea
  44. Dysphagia
  45. Eating during cancer treatment: Tips to make food tastier
  46. Fatigue
  47. Fertility preservation
  48. Heart cancer: Is there such a thing?
  49. High-dose vitamin C: Can it kill cancer cells?
  50. Honey: An effective cough remedy?
  51. Hyperthermic isolated limb perfusion
  52. Immunotherapy
  53. Infographic: CAR-T Cell Therapy
  54. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)
  55. Intrathecal chemotherapy
  56. Isolated limb infusion
  57. Joint pain
  58. Laryngitis
  59. Low blood counts
  60. Magic mouthwash
  61. Medical marijuana
  62. Microwave ablation for cancer
  63. Mindfulness exercises
  64. Minimally invasive cancer surgery
  65. Monoclonal antibody drugs
  66. Mort Crim and Cancer
  67. Mouth sores caused by cancer treatment: How to cope
  68. MRI
  69. Muscle pain
  70. Needle biopsy
  71. Night sweats
  72. No appetite? How to get nutrition during cancer treatment
  73. Palliative care
  74. PALS (Pets Are Loving Support)
  75. Pelvic exenteration
  76. PET/MRI scan
  77. Precision medicine for cancer
  78. Proton beam therapy
  79. Proton therapy
  80. Radiation therapy
  81. Regional perfusion therapy
  82. Seeing inside the heart with MRI
  83. Self-Image During Cancer
  84. Sentinel lymph node mapping
  85. Shortness of breath
  86. Sisters' Bone Marrow Transplant
  87. Sleep tips
  88. Small cell, large cell cancer: What this means
  89. Stem cells: What they are and what they do
  90. Stereotactic radiosurgery
  91. Surgical biopsy
  92. Targeted drug therapy
  93. Tumor vs. cyst: What's the difference?
  94. Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy (TIL therapy)
  95. TVEC (Talimogene laherparepvec) injection
  96. Ultrasound
  97. Unexplained weight loss
  98. Stem cell transplant
  99. How cancer spreads
  100. MRI
  101. PICC line placement
  102. When cancer returns: How to cope with cancer recurrence
  103. Wide local skin excision
  104. X-ray