A good number of research studies provide convincing evidence that curcumin (or turmeric) improves the effectiveness of cancer drugs, for example 5-FU and carboplatin, by promoting chemo-sensitivity, weakening cancer cells and protecting healthy cells.
Exploding the mythology that Curcumin gets in the way of cancer drugs
Have you ever been told by your Oncologist that they don't want you taking any supplements like curcumin because they will get in the way of their important drugs? (Updated from an original 2015 article by Chris Woollams, Oxford University Biochemist).
Well, actually, your oncologist may well be very wrong. The biochemistry of a cancer cell and a healthy cell is completely different. Drug companies spend fortunes exploiting these very differences. A poison to a cancer cell may well be nourishment for a healthy cell. There are many research studies on the benefits of taking certain bioactive compounds, including antioxidants, whilst on chemotherapy. Curcumin, or turmeric, is one such compound. Many 'antioxidants have multiple actions - for example, reducing inflammation, reducing toxicity to healthy cells, and even causing apoptosis (cancer cell death) in their own right! Moreover, may of the newer drugs are not chemotherapy drugs anyway and exploit the differences in cancer cells. The concern over antioxidant properties is simply irrelevant.
Take one of our CANCERactive patients who was offered Ibrance (Palbociclib). It's a newer drug, a CD4/6 inhibitor. Others are Ribociclib and Abemaciclib. Her oncologist told her that she must not take Berberine, Curcumin or Milk thistle with Ibrance. So, she went to the Hospital pharmacist who said the same thing. Undeterred, our patient rang Pfizer and asked to speak to any scientist who worked on Ibrance. When she asked whether she could take her supplements with the drug, the scientist answered, "No problem".
Take other newer drugs like PARP inhibitors - many patients are told not to take supplements with them. But curcumin is a proven PARP enhancer! Curcumin actually suppresses multiple DNA damage response pathways (5) and so has potency as a cancer cell sensitiser to PARP inhibitor drugs. We even have an article on other natural compounds that make PARP drugs work better. We include multiple research studies - EGCG, Berberine, vitamin D, Resveratrol and many more.
Take the new breed of Immunotherapy drugs. Curcumin drives signalling pathways in immune cells. Yes, it can actually make immunotherapy drugs work better. It is known to increase T-cell levels and promote their attack on cancer cells (6). Cucumin is alsona strong anti-inflammatory and this also helps the immune attack.
What else can Curcumin do?
Let's go back to the ruining chemo argument.
Here are some examples for the chemo drug fluorouracil or 5-FU, (first approved in 1956) and curcumin. 5-FU is a drug commonly used with oxaliplatin (and Folonic acid) in treating colorectal cancer (the combination is dubbed FOLFOX); or in FOLFIRI for the same cancer; and FOLFIRINOX for pancreatic cancer, and in treatments such as FEC-T, but not so common these days for breast cancer, with Epirubicin and Cyclophosphamide.
5-FU is known to be cytotoxic to healthy cells, and curcumin reduces toxicity by 7-10 fold, without weakening the attack on cancer cells; Indeed, curcumin even enhances 5-FU action against cancer cells. Yes, it makes it work BETTER.
Curcumin also acts to sensitise cancer cells to the effects of the drug treatment; and it also has it's own actions against cancer. For example, on its own it performs against the cancer tumour only slightly worse that the combination of the two colorectal drugs! But when measuring cancer stem cells, which bring about the regrowth of the tumour, curcumin reduces their numbers much MORE that this drug combination does.
1. Curcumin enhances the effects of 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin in mediating growth inhibition of colon cancer cells by modulating EGFR and IGF-1R.
Hardly a small claim this, the research conclusion was that curcumin should definitely be used with the two colorectal drugs (1).
2. Curcumin acts on Cancer Stem Cells missed by 5-FU and oxaliplatin.
FOLFOX treatment on its own has limited success and, worse, seems to enrich (increase) the numbers of colorectal stem-cells after use. However, the addition of curcumin, reduces them. In further studies on its own, while curcumin killed off only 5 per cent less cancer cells, it significantly reduced the overall number of cancer stem cells that could regrow and cause recurrence (2).
3. Curcumin chemosensitises 5-fluorouracil resistant MMR-deficient human colon cancer cells in high density cultures
Some colorectal cancer cells are just simply resistant to 5-FU. But not after curcumin is introduced (3).
4. Curcumin reduces cytotoxicity of 5-Fluorouracil treatment in healthy human breast cancer cells
Concerned about breast cancer drug toxicity? After curcumin was introduced there was a 7-10 fold reduction in healthy cell damage (4).
There is also an MD Anderson Clinical Trial in progress at this moment using curcumin along with capecitabine and radiotherapy for colorectal cancer. Capecitabine is the pro-drug of Fluorouracil.
There is one minor caveat. In some instances, curcumin supplementation may lower your blood platelets by a small amount. Nurses and oncologists sometimes express concerns to patients. But then, there's research on the drug Dipyridamole which does exactly this and thus slows cancer progression. Cancer needs platelets to form blood supplies, and to grow, and to spread. Slightly lowered platelets can be good news!
5. In 2025 preclinical studies with Gastric cancer (7), curcumin can inhibit the proliferation of gastric cancer cells and promote their apoptosis.
6. Not least, curcumin has strong anti-inflammatory properties. This gives it preventative qualities, and provides anti-inflammatory benefits when patients are having either chemotherapy or radiotherapy (8), both of which are known to cause inflammation, leading to adverse reactions in the patient.
7. Research indicates that combining curcumin with chemotherapy agents such as docetaxel, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), doxorubicin, cisplatin, and celecoxib can produce synergistic anti-cancer effects by modulating key signaling pathways like NF-κB, PI3K/Akt, and mTOR, thereby inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, promoting apoptosis, and reducing drug resistance (7).
Go to: Alternative Colorectal Cancer Treatment
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References:
1. Ref: Int J Cancer. 2008 Jan 15;122(2):267-73.
2. Ref: 2009. http://www.transonc.com/article/S1936-5233(09)80040-5/abstract
3. Ref: PLoS One. 2014 Jan 3;9(1):e85397. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0085397. eCollection 2014
4. Ref: J Med Food. 2015 Apr;18(4):497-502. doi: 10.1089/jmf.2013.0086. Epub 2014 Jan 29.
5. Curcumin suppresses multiple DNA damage response pathways and has potency as a sensitizer to PARP inhibitor; Hideaki Ogiwara et al; Carcinogenesis. 2013 Nov;34(11):2486-97.
6. From bench to bedside: exploring curcumin-driven signaling pathways in immune cells for cancer management; Goleij, P., Rezaee, A., Lam, H.Y. et al. Inflammopharmacol 33, 2293–2306 (2025).
7. Pre-clinical study of curcumin in the treatment of gastric Cancer; Minghui Hao, Chungang Zhang; Journal of Functional Foods, Volume 125, February 2025,
8. Curcumin as a preventive or therapeutic measure for chemotherapy and radiotherapy induced adverse reaction: A comprehensive review; Sadaf Akbari et al; Food and Chemical Toxicology, Volume 145, November 2020,
CANCERactive - the appliance of Science