Curcumin / STAT3 Cancer Research Results

CUR, Curcumin: Click to Expand ⟱
Features:
Curcumin is the main active ingredient in Tumeric. Member of the ginger family.Curcumin is a polyphenol extracted from turmeric with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
- Has iron-chelating, iron-chelating properties. Ferritin. But still known to increase Iron in Cancer cells.
- GSH depletion in cancer cells, exhaustion of the antioxidant defense system. But still raises GSH↑ in normal cells.
- Higher concentrations (5-10 μM) of curcumin induce autophagy and ROS production
- Inhibition of TrxR, shifting the enzyme from an antioxidant to a prooxidant
- Strong inhibitor of Glo-I, , causes depletion of cellular ATP and GSH
- Curcumin has been found to act as an activator of Nrf2, (maybe bad in cancer cells?), hence could be combined with Nrf2 knockdown
-may suppress CSC: suppresses self-renewal and pathways (Wnt/Notch/Hedgehog).
Clinical studies testing curcumin in cancer patients have used a range of dosages, often between 500 mg and 8 g per day; however, many studies note that doses on the lower end may not achieve sufficient plasma concentrations for a therapeutic anticancer effect in humans.
• Formulations designed to improve curcumin absorption (like curcumin combined with piperine, nanoparticle formulations, or liposomal curcumin) are often employed in clinical trials to enhance its bioavailability.

-Note half-life 6 hrs.
BioAv is poor, use piperine or other enhancers
Pathways:
- induce ROS production at high concentration. Lowers ROS at lower concentrations
curcumin can act as a pro-oxidant when blue light is applied
- ROS↑ related: MMP↓(ΔΨm), ER Stress↑, UPR↑, GRP78↑, Cyt‑c↑, Caspases↑, DNA damage↑, cl-PARP↑, HSP↓
- Lowers AntiOxidant defense in Cancer Cells: GSH↓ Catalase↓ HO1↓ GPx↓
but conversely is known as a NRF2↑ activator in cancer
- Raises AntiOxidant defense in Normal Cells: ROS↓, NRF2↑, SOD↑, GSH↑, Catalase↑,
- lowers Inflammation : NF-kB↓, COX2↓, p38↓, Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines : TNF-α↓, IL-6↓, IL-8↓
- inhibit Growth/Metastases : TumMeta↓, TumCG↓, EMT↓, MMPs↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, uPA↓, VEGF↓, NF-κB↓, CXCR4↓, SDF1↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, ERK↓
- reactivate genes thereby inhibiting cancer cell growth : HDAC↓, DNMT1↓, DNMT3A↓, EZH2↓, P53↑, HSP↓, Sp proteins↓,
- cause Cell cycle arrest : TumCCA↑, cyclin D1↓, CDK2↓, CDK4↓, CDK6↓,
- inhibits Migration/Invasion : TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, ERK↓, EMT↓, TOP1↓, TET1↓,
- inhibits glycolysis /Warburg Effect and ATP depletion : HIF-1α↓, PKM2↓, cMyc↓, GLUT1↓, LDHA↓, HK2↓, PFKs↓, PDKs↓, HK2↓, ECAR↓, OXPHOS↓, GRP78↑, GlucoseCon↓
- inhibits angiogenesis↓ : VEGF↓, HIF-1α↓, Notch↓, FGF↓, PDGF↓, EGFR↓, Integrins↓,
- inhibits Cancer Stem Cells : CSC↓, CK2↓, Hh↓, GLi1↓, CD133↓, CD24↓, β-catenin↓, n-myc↓, sox2↓, OCT4↓,
- Others: PI3K↓, AKT↓, JAK↓, STAT↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin↓, AMPK↓, ERK↓, JNK, TrxR**,
- Synergies: chemo-sensitization, chemoProtective, RadioSensitizer, RadioProtective, Others(review target notes), Neuroprotective, Cognitive, Renoprotection, Hepatoprotective, CardioProtective,

- Selectivity: Cancer Cells vs Normal Cells

Rank Pathway / Axis Cancer Cells Normal Cells Label Primary Interpretation Notes
1 NF-κB signaling ↓ NF-κB activation ↓ inflammatory NF-κB tone Driver Suppression of survival and inflammatory transcription NF-κB is a primary, repeatedly validated curcumin target explaining pleiotropic downstream effects
2 STAT3 signaling ↓ STAT3 phosphorylation / activity ↔ or mild suppression Driver Loss of pro-survival and proliferative signaling STAT3 inhibition contributes to growth arrest, apoptosis sensitization, and reduced cytokine signaling in tumors
3 Reactive oxygen species (ROS) ↑ ROS (dose- & context-dependent) ↓ ROS / buffered Conditional Driver Biphasic redox modulation Curcumin can act as a pro-oxidant in cancer cells with high basal stress while acting antioxidant in normal cells
4 Mitochondrial integrity / intrinsic apoptosis ↓ ΔΨm; ↑ caspase activation ↔ preserved Driver Execution of intrinsic apoptosis Mitochondrial dysfunction and caspase activation occur downstream of NF-κB/STAT3 and ROS effects
5 PI3K → AKT → mTOR axis ↓ AKT / ↓ mTOR ↔ or adaptive suppression Secondary Reduced growth and anabolic signaling AKT/mTOR inhibition contributes to growth suppression and autophagy induction in cancer cells
6 Autophagy ↑ autophagy (protective or pro-death) ↑ adaptive autophagy Secondary Stress adaptation vs cell death Autophagy may be cytoprotective or cooperate with apoptosis depending on context and dose
7 HIF-1α / VEGF hypoxia–angiogenesis axis ↓ HIF-1α; ↓ VEGF ↔ minimal effect Secondary Anti-angiogenic pressure Suppression of hypoxia-driven transcription limits angiogenesis and tumor adaptation
8 Cell cycle regulation ↑ G2/M or G1 arrest ↔ largely spared Phenotypic Cytostatic growth control Cell-cycle arrest reflects upstream signaling and epigenetic effects rather than direct CDK inhibition
9 Migration / invasion (EMT, MMP axis) ↓ migration & invasion ↔ Phenotypic Anti-metastatic phenotype Reduced EMT markers and protease activity limit invasive behavior
10 Epigenetic regulation (p300/CBP HAT activity) ↓ histone acetylation ↔ modest Secondary Transcriptional reprogramming Curcumin modulates chromatin via HAT inhibition rather than classic HDAC inhibition


STAT3, Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3: Click to Expand ⟱
Source:
Type: Oncogene
Stat3 (Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3) is a transcription factor that plays a crucial role in various cellular processes, including cell growth, survival, differentiation, and immune response.
Stat3 is frequently found to be constitutively activated in many types of cancers, including breast, prostate, lung, and head and neck cancers. (associated with poor prognosis and reduced survival.)

-STAT3 is typically activated by cytokines (such as IL-6) and growth factors binding to their respective receptors.
-Activated STAT3 upregulates the expression of genes that promote cell cycle progression (e.g., cyclin D1) and anti-apoptotic proteins (e.g., Bcl-2, Bcl-xL).
Scientific Papers found: Click to Expand⟱
147- ATG,  EGCG,  CUR,    Increased chemopreventive effect by combining arctigenin, green tea polyphenol and curcumin in prostate and breast cancer cells
- in-vitro, Pca, LNCaP - in-vitro, Pca, MCF-7
Bax:Bcl2↑, NF-kB↓, PI3K/Akt↓, STAT3↓, chemoPv↑, TumCP↓, TumCCA↑, TumCMig↓,
3861- CUR,    Curcumin as a novel therapeutic candidate for cancer: can this natural compound revolutionize cancer treatment?
- Review, Var, NA
*antiOx↑, *Inflam↓, PI3K↓, Akt↓, mTOR↓, Wnt↓, β-catenin/ZEB1↓, NF-kB↓, HH↓, NOTCH↓, JAK↓, STAT3↓, ADAM10↓,
4826- CUR,    The Bright Side of Curcumin: A Narrative Review of Its Therapeutic Potential in Cancer Management
- Review, Var, NA
*antiOx↑, *Inflam↑, *ROS↓, Apoptosis↑, TumCP↓, BioAv↓, Half-Life↓, eff↑, TumCCA↑, BAX↑, Bak↑, PUMA↑, BIM↑, NOXA↑, TRAIL↑, Bcl-2↓, Bcl-xL↓, survivin↓, XIAP↓, cMyc↓, Casp↑, NF-kB↓, STAT3↓, AP-1↓, angioG↓, TumMeta↑, VEGF↓, MMPs↓, DNMTs↓, HDAC↓, ROS↑,
4676- CUR,    Curcumin suppresses stem-like traits of lung cancer cells via inhibiting the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway
- vitro+vivo, Lung, H460
CSCs↓, JAK2↓, STAT3↓, TumCP↓, TumCG↓,
4671- CUR,    Targeting colorectal cancer stem cells using curcumin and curcumin analogues: insights into the mechanism of the therapeutic efficacy
- in-vitro, CRC, NA
CSCs↓, TumCG↓, ChemoSen↑, Wnt↓, β-catenin/ZEB1↓, Shh↓, NOTCH↓, DNMT1↓, STAT3↓, NF-kB↓, EGFR↓, IGFR↓, TumCCA↓, cl‑PARP↑, BAX↑, ECM/TCF↓,
4656- CUR,  EGCG,    Curcumin and epigallocatechin gallate inhibit the cancer stem cell phenotype via down-regulation of STAT3-NFκB signaling
- in-vitro, BC, MDA-MB-231 - in-vitro, BC, MCF-7
CSCs↓, CD44↓, p‑STAT3↓, NF-kB↓, TumCI↓,
2974- CUR,    Curcumin Suppresses Metastasis via Sp-1, FAK Inhibition, and E-Cadherin Upregulation in Colorectal Cancer
- in-vitro, CRC, HCT116 - in-vitro, CRC, HT29 - in-vitro, CRC, HCT15 - in-vitro, CRC, COLO205 - in-vitro, CRC, SW-620 - in-vivo, NA, NA
TumCMig↓, TumCI↓, TumCG↓, TumMeta↓, Sp1/3/4↓, HDAC4↓, FAK↓, CD24↓, E-cadherin↑, EMT↓, TumCP↓, NF-kB↓, AP-1↝, STAT3↓, P53?, β-catenin/ZEB1↓, NOTCH1↝, Hif1a↝, PPARα↝, Rho↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓,
2688- CUR,    Effects of resveratrol, curcumin, berberine and other nutraceuticals on aging, cancer development, cancer stem cells and microRNAs
- Review, Var, NA - Review, AD, NA
*ROS↓, *SOD↑, p16↑, JAK2↓, STAT3↓, CXCL12↓, IL6↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, TGF-β↓, α-SMA↓, LAMs↓, DNAdam↑, *memory↑, *cognitive↑, *Inflam↓, *antiOx↑, *NO↑, *MDA↓, *ROS↓, DNMT1↓, ROS↑, Casp3↑, Apoptosis↑, miR-21↓, LC3II↓, ChemoSen↑, NF-kB↓, CSCs↓, Nanog↓, OCT4↓, SOX2↓, eff↑, Sp1/3/4↓, miR-27a-3p↓, ZBTB10↑, SOX9?, ChemoSen↑, VEGF↓, XIAP↓, Bcl-2↓, cycD1/CCND1↓, BioAv↑, Hif1a↓, EMT↓, BioAv↓, PTEN↑, VEGF↓, Akt↑, EZH2↓, NOTCH1↓, TP53↑, NQO1↑, HO-1↑,
2654- CUR,    Oxidative Stress Inducers in Cancer Therapy: Preclinical and Clinical Evidence
- Review, Var, NA
ROS↑, Catalase↓, SOD1↓, GLO-I↓, NADPH↓, TumCCA↑, Apoptosis↑, Akt↓, ER Stress↑, JNK↑, STAT3↓, BioAv↑,
464- CUR,    Curcumin inhibits the viability, migration and invasion of papillary thyroid cancer cells by regulating the miR-301a-3p/STAT3 axis
- in-vitro, Thyroid, BCPAP - in-vitro, Thyroid, TPC-1
TumCI↓, TumCI↓, MMP2↓, MMP9↓, EMT↓, STAT3↓, miR-301a-3p↓, STAT↓, N-cadherin↓, Vim↓, Fibronectin↓, p‑JAK↓, p‑JAK2↓, p‑JAK3↓, p‑STAT1↓, p‑STAT2↓, E-cadherin↑,
466- CUR,    Curcumin circumvent lactate-induced chemoresistance in hepatic cancer cells through modulation of hydroxycarboxylic acid receptor-1
- in-vitro, Liver, HepG2 - in-vitro, Liver, HuT78
GlucoseCon↓, lactateProd↓, pH↑, NO↑, LAR↓, Hif1a↓, LDHA↓, MCT1↓, MDR1↓, STAT3↓, HCAR1↓,
469- CUR,    The inhibitory effect of curcumin via fascin suppression through JAK/STAT3 pathway on metastasis and recurrence of ovary cancer cells
- in-vitro, Ovarian, SKOV3
fascin↓, STAT3↓, JAK↓,
440- CUR,    Curcumin Reverses NNMT-Induced 5-Fluorouracil Resistance via Increasing ROS and Cell Cycle Arrest in Colorectal Cancer Cells
- vitro+vivo, CRC, SW480 - vitro+vivo, CRC, HT-29
NNMT↓, p‑STAT3↓, TumCP↓, TumCCA↑, ROS↑,
1409- CUR,    Curcumin analog WZ26 induces ROS and cell death via inhibition of STAT3 in cholangiocarcinoma
- in-vivo, CCA, Walker256
TumCG↓, ROS↑, MMP↓, STAT3↓, TumCCA↑, eff↓,
1485- CUR,  Chemo,  Rad,    Curcumin, the golden spice from Indian saffron, is a chemosensitizer and radiosensitizer for tumors and chemoprotector and radioprotector for normal organs
- Review, Var, NA
ChemoSen↑, NF-kB↓, *STAT3↓, *COX2↓, *Akt↓, *NRF2↑, *HO-1↑, *GPx↑, *NADPH↑, *GSH↑, *ROS↓, *p300↓, radioP↑, chemoP↑, RadioS↑,
1809- CUR,  Oxy,    Long-term stabilisation of myeloma with curcumin
- Case Report, Melanoma, NA
*OS↑, QoL↑, Dose↑, Dose↑, IL6↓, STAT3↓, NF-kB↓, COX2↓,
152- CUR,    Anti-cancer activity of curcumin loaded nanoparticles in prostate cancer
- in-vivo, Pca, NA
β-catenin/ZEB1↓, AR↓, STAT3↓, p‑Akt↓, Mcl-1↓, Bcl-xL↓, cl‑PARP↑, miR-21↓, miR-205↑, TumCG↓, TumCP↓, TumCI↓, angioG↓, TumMeta↓,
13- CUR,    Role of curcumin in regulating p53 in breast cancer: an overview of the mechanism of action
- Review, BC, NA
P53↑, DR5↑, JNK↑, NRF2↑, PPARγ↑, HER2/EBBR2↓, IR↓, ER(estro)↓, Fas↑, PDGF↓, TGF-β↓, FGF↓, EGFR↓, JAK↓, PAK↓, MAPK↓, ATPase↓, COX2↓, MMPs↓, IL1↓, IL2↓, IL5↓, IL6↓, IL8↓, IL12↓, IL18↓, NF-kB↓, NOTCH1↓, STAT1↓, STAT4↓, STAT5↓, STAT3↓,
161- CUR,  MeSA,    Enhanced apoptotic effects by the combination of curcumin and methylseleninic acid: potential role of Mcl-1 and FAK
- in-vitro, BC, MDA-MB-231 - in-vitro, Pca, DU145
Mcl-1↑, Mcl-1↓, MPT↑, AIF↑, chemoPv↑, Apoptosis↑, ROS↑, FAK↓, STAT3↓, NF-kB↓,
4664- GEN,  CUR,  RES,  EGCG,  SFN  Targeting cancer stem cells by nutraceuticals for cancer therapy
- Review, Var, NA
CSCs↓, other↝, eff↑, CD44↓, p‑STAT3↓,
119- UA,  CUR,  RES,    Combinatorial treatment with natural compounds in prostate cancer inhibits prostate tumor growth and leads to key modulations of cancer cell metabolism
- in-vitro, Pca, DU145 - in-vitro, Pca, PC3
ROS⇅, p‑STAT3↓, Src↓, AMPK↑, GlutMet↑, TCA↑, glut↓,

Showing Research Papers: 1 to 21 of 21

* indicates research on normal cells as opposed to diseased cells
Total Research Paper Matches: 21

Pathway results for Effect on Cancer / Diseased Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

Catalase↓, 1,   HO-1↑, 1,   NQO1↑, 1,   NRF2↑, 1,   ROS↑, 6,   ROS⇅, 1,   SOD1↓, 1,  

Mitochondria & Bioenergetics ⓘ

AIF↑, 1,   MMP↓, 1,   MPT↑, 1,   XIAP↓, 2,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

AMPK↑, 1,   cMyc↓, 1,   GLO-I↓, 1,   GlucoseCon↓, 1,   glut↓, 1,   GlutMet↑, 1,   IR↓, 1,   lactateProd↓, 1,   LAR↓, 1,   LDHA↓, 1,   NADPH↓, 1,   NNMT↓, 1,   PI3K/Akt↓, 1,   PPARα↝, 1,   PPARγ↑, 1,   TCA↑, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 2,   Akt↑, 1,   p‑Akt↓, 1,   Apoptosis↑, 4,   Bak↑, 1,   BAX↑, 2,   Bax:Bcl2↑, 1,   Bcl-2↓, 2,   Bcl-xL↓, 2,   BIM↑, 1,   Casp↑, 1,   Casp3↑, 1,   DR5↑, 1,   Fas↑, 1,   JNK↑, 2,   MAPK↓, 1,   Mcl-1↓, 2,   Mcl-1↑, 1,   MCT1↓, 1,   NOXA↑, 1,   PUMA↑, 1,   survivin↓, 1,   TRAIL↑, 1,  

Kinase & Signal Transduction ⓘ

HER2/EBBR2↓, 1,   PAK↓, 1,   SOX9?, 1,   Sp1/3/4↓, 2,  

Transcription & Epigenetics ⓘ

EZH2↓, 1,   miR-205↑, 1,   miR-21↓, 2,   miR-27a-3p↓, 1,   other↝, 1,  

Protein Folding & ER Stress ⓘ

ER Stress↑, 1,  

Autophagy & Lysosomes ⓘ

LC3II↓, 1,  

DNA Damage & Repair ⓘ

DNAdam↑, 1,   DNMT1↓, 2,   DNMTs↓, 1,   p16↑, 1,   P53?, 1,   P53↑, 1,   cl‑PARP↑, 2,   TP53↑, 1,  

Cell Cycle & Senescence ⓘ

cycD1/CCND1↓, 1,   TumCCA↓, 1,   TumCCA↑, 5,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

CD24↓, 1,   CD44↓, 2,   CSCs↓, 5,   EMT↓, 3,   FGF↓, 1,   HDAC↓, 1,   HDAC4↓, 1,   HH↓, 1,   IGFR↓, 1,   mTOR↓, 1,   Nanog↓, 1,   NOTCH↓, 2,   NOTCH1↓, 2,   NOTCH1↝, 1,   OCT4↓, 1,   PI3K↓, 1,   PTEN↑, 1,   Shh↓, 1,   SOX2↓, 1,   Src↓, 1,   STAT↓, 1,   STAT1↓, 1,   p‑STAT1↓, 1,   p‑STAT2↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 16,   p‑STAT3↓, 4,   STAT4↓, 1,   STAT5↓, 1,   TumCG↓, 5,   Wnt↓, 2,  

Migration ⓘ

AP-1↓, 1,   AP-1↝, 1,   ATPase↓, 1,   CXCL12↓, 1,   E-cadherin↑, 2,   FAK↓, 2,   fascin↓, 1,   Fibronectin↓, 1,   LAMs↓, 1,   miR-301a-3p↓, 1,   MMP2↓, 3,   MMP9↓, 3,   MMPs↓, 2,   N-cadherin↓, 1,   PDGF↓, 1,   Rho↓, 1,   TGF-β↓, 2,   TumCI↓, 5,   TumCMig↓, 2,   TumCP↓, 6,   TumMeta↓, 2,   TumMeta↑, 1,   Vim↓, 1,   α-SMA↓, 1,   β-catenin/ZEB1↓, 4,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

angioG↓, 2,   ECM/TCF↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 2,   Hif1a↓, 2,   Hif1a↝, 1,   NO↑, 1,   VEGF↓, 3,   ZBTB10↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX2↓, 2,   HCAR1↓, 1,   IL1↓, 1,   IL12↓, 1,   IL18↓, 1,   IL2↓, 1,   IL5↓, 1,   IL6↓, 3,   IL8↓, 1,   JAK↓, 3,   p‑JAK↓, 1,   JAK2↓, 2,   p‑JAK2↓, 1,   p‑JAK3↓, 1,   NF-kB↓, 11,  

Cellular Microenvironment ⓘ

pH↑, 1,  

Synaptic & Neurotransmission ⓘ

ADAM10↓, 1,  

Hormonal & Nuclear Receptors ⓘ

AR↓, 1,   ER(estro)↓, 1,  

Drug Metabolism & Resistance ⓘ

BioAv↓, 2,   BioAv↑, 2,   ChemoSen↑, 4,   Dose↑, 2,   eff↓, 1,   eff↑, 3,   Half-Life↓, 1,   MDR1↓, 1,   RadioS↑, 1,  

Clinical Biomarkers ⓘ

AR↓, 1,   EGFR↓, 2,   EZH2↓, 1,   HER2/EBBR2↓, 1,   IL6↓, 3,   TP53↑, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

chemoP↑, 1,   chemoPv↑, 2,   QoL↑, 1,   radioP↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 173

Pathway results for Effect on Normal Cells:


Redox & Oxidative Stress ⓘ

antiOx↑, 3,   GPx↑, 1,   GSH↑, 1,   HO-1↑, 1,   MDA↓, 1,   NRF2↑, 1,   ROS↓, 4,   SOD↑, 1,  

Core Metabolism/Glycolysis ⓘ

NADPH↑, 1,  

Cell Death ⓘ

Akt↓, 1,  

Proliferation, Differentiation & Cell State ⓘ

p300↓, 1,   STAT3↓, 1,  

Angiogenesis & Vasculature ⓘ

NO↑, 1,  

Immune & Inflammatory Signaling ⓘ

COX2↓, 1,   Inflam↓, 2,   Inflam↑, 1,  

Functional Outcomes ⓘ

cognitive↑, 1,   memory↑, 1,   OS↑, 1,  
Total Targets: 19

Scientific Paper Hit Count for: STAT3, Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3
21 Curcumin
3 EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate)
2 Resveratrol
1 Arctigenin
1 Chemotherapy
1 Radiotherapy/Radiation
1 Oxygen, Hyperbaric
1 methylseleninic acid
1 Genistein (soy isoflavone)
1 Sulforaphane (mainly Broccoli)
1 Ursolic acid
Query results interpretion may depend on "conditions" listed in the research papers.
Such Conditions may include : 
  -low or high Dose
  -format for product, such as nano of lipid formations
  -different cell line effects
  -synergies with other products 
  -if effect was for normal or cancerous cells

Filter Conditions: Pro/AntiFlg:%  IllCat:%  CanType:%  Cells:%  prod#:65  Target#:373  State#:%  Dir#:1
  wNotes=0  sortOrder:rid,rpid

 

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