GALVESTON, Texas, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Texas scientists have discovered that curcumin blocks the activity of a gastrointestinal hormone implicated in the development of colorectal cancer.
Curcumin is the yellow pigment found in the curry spice turmeric.
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have linked the gastrointestinal hormone neurotensin, which is generated in response to fat consumption, to the production of IL-8, a potent inflammatory protein that accelerates the growth and spread of a variety of human cancer cells, including colorectal and pancreatic tumor cells.
"We found that in colon cancer cells, neurotensin increases not just the rate of growth but also other critical things, including cell migration and metastasis," said senior author B. Mark Evers. "The fact that all that can be turned off by this natural product, curcumin, was really remarkable."
The findings, published in Clinical Cancer Research, suggest that curcumin may be useful for colon-cancer treatment, as well as potential colon-cancer suppression, in cells that respond to this gastrointestinal hormone, neurotensin.
