herceptin & curcumin

ejlj

from all the reading I've done, curcumin supposedly works very similarly as herceptin.  has anyone else used this while on herceptin?  i'd like to start taking it but do not want it to interfere with the positive effects of herceptin.  I've asked my onc about it and he said he's never heard of the stuff?!?!  I also emailed Dr. Argawal about this (a lead scientist that was involved in studying the effects of Curcumin) and he said "it should work with the herceptin".  Any thoughts out there would be greatly appreciated.

Anonymous

Curcumin isn't a treatment. It has shown some promising activity in test tubes. Not in humans. Herceptin has been proven in several large-scale randomized clinical trials.

I would not take curcumin/turmeric supplements during chemo or radiation, because of the possibility of it inhibiting the effects of the treatments. In general, I don't believe in taking supplements that are extracted from food sources anyway. They have consistently failed to show any positive effect in human trials.

If you like it as a seasoning, by all means use it. If you expect it to stop Her2/Neu positive breast cancer, well, good luck with that.

TRS

Hi ejlj.
I've read several literature that shows how curcumin has similar effects with Herceptin as DIM plus/IC3 has similar functions with Tamoxifen. I just don't know the effects/contraindication of these natural plants with patients undergoing chemotherapy.

In any case, I recently posted this in one of the discussions (hope this would somehow help. my mother has been taking curcumin--fresh and capsulized version for the past four years):

Because my mother was diagnosed with her2neu four years ago, I was forced to read up and research about it. I saw some clinical trials showing curcumin's advantages including depleting cells of Her2/neu protein in short treatments in cellular experiments.
 
We cannot afford Herceptin and chemotherapy so what we did was, aside from the organic plant-based diet (almost devoid of animal protein), we made her took fresh curcumin tea almost regularly and some curcumin capsules (some integrative docs say that since curcumin has poor bioavailability/poor absorption, it has to be accompanied by 5mg of bioperine, which is black pepper in layman's term). As I write this I am still continuously researching on this plant (previously associated only with its yellow spice called curry, has been undergoing clinical trials in prestigious scientific institutions across the world--12 active clinical trials of curcumin are ongoing in the United States, Israel and Hong Kong.. Some of these trials are studying the effects of curcumin on colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, psoriasis, epilepsy, gall bladder cancer and cervical cancer, among others.)
 
Saw this Philippine health article about Dr. Bharat Aggarwal of the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Texas.
 
The commentary (of Aggarwal) cited accumulating evidence showing curcumin’s molecular targets as transcription factors, growth factors and their receptors, cytokines, enzymes and genes regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis (cancer cell death).
 
One example showed that most human cancer cells overexpress epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and Her2/neu, which ultimately stimulates the proliferation of cancer cells. “Cellular experiments in vitro have shown that short-term treatment with curcumin inhibits EGFR kinase activity cells and depletes Her2/neu protein,” Aggarwal said.
 
A previous clinical trial by Aggarwal and his colleagues has also shown that curcumin is safe even at high doses (as much as 12 g/day) in humans.
 
“Despite the lower bioavailability, the therapeutic efficacy of curcumin against various human diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, arthritis, neurological diseases and Crohn’s disease, has been documented. The enhanced bioavailability of curcumin in the near future is likely to bring this promising natural product to the forefront of therapeutic agents for the treatment of human disease,” Aggarwal concluded.

Here's another article on curcumin and her2neu:

Of significant interest to women is that curcumin appears to have a therapeutic potential for preventing breast cancer metastasis. In the publication 'Phytopharmaceuticals in Cancer Chemoprevention', Prof Aggarwal and colleagues they say that when it comes to HER2 positive breast cancers, curcumin down regulates the activity of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor and expression of HER2/neu. The researchers say "curcumin depletes cells of HER2/neu protein". full details here: http://www.curcumin.co.nz/curcumin-story.htm

i don't know how herceptin (if you're taking one) react with curcumin. 

TammyLou

I also would not recommend taking curcumin with Herceptin. 

You should inform your oncologist of ANY supplements you are taking.

When I got out of treatment, I actually tried taking curcumin supplements.  Real curcumin is some pretty tough stuff....my eyes watered WORSE on curcumin than they did on TAXOTERE!

tl