Tumors are multifaceted; in fact, numerous things happen in synchrony to enable
tumor promotion and progression. Any type of
cancer is associated with the modification of 300-500 normal genes and characterized by the deregulation of cell signaling pathways at multiple steps leading to
cancer phenotype. Thus a proper management of
tumorigenesis requires the development of multi-targeted
therapies. Several adverse effects associated with present day
cancer therapies and the thirsts for multi-targeted safe anticancer drug instigate the use of natural
polyphenol,
curcumin. It appears to involve a blend of anti-carcinogenic, pro-apoptotic, anti-angiogenic, anti-metastatic, immunomodulatory and
antioxidant activities. Also the molecular mechanisms implicated for the pleotropic activities of
curcumin are diverse and seem to involve a combination of cell signaling pathways at multiple levels of
tumorigenesis. Being a potent scavenger of
reactive oxygen species,
curcumin also ameliorates systemic toxicity in
tumor-bearer. Taken together, by placing particular emphasis on molecular basis of
tumor promotion and progression this review summarizes the anti-
cancer properties of
curcumin that may be exploited for successful clinical
cancer prevention.