Curry May Slow Prostate Cancer

Researchers have long suspected that curcumin, found in the spice turmeric (and used in curries) has cancer fighting properties. Now comes a study from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich that shows that it can slow metastases. ScienceDaily reports that when researchers at the school looked for molecular processes that are abnormally regulated in prostate carcinoma cells they found that the tumor cells  produce pro-inflammatory immunomodulators including the cytokines CXCL1 und CXCL2. They also discovered that curcumin specifically decreases the expression of these two proteins, and in a mouse model, the reduction correlated with a decline in the incidence of metastases. Lead researcher Dr. Beatrice Bachmeier warns that curcumin should not replace customary cancer therapies, but does think that it may be useful in the prevention of breast and prostate cancers — which are both linked to inflammation. Read more from ScienceDaily.