Curcumin can reverse the chemoresistance of primary liver cancer and prolong the survival rate

The main crux of drug resistance in patients with liver cancer lies in the hypoxia caused by long-term application of the anti-tumor drug sorafenib, which further enhances glycolysis.

Liu Lianxin, director of the Department of liver surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, led the completion of the major project "study on the mechanism of chemoresistance and new strategies for clinical intervention in primary liver cancer" and found that:

The combination of curcumin and sorafenib, the natural component of Chinese medicine curcuma, can not only significantly enhance the efficacy of both, but also reverse the drug resistance of sorafenib.

This topic has won the first prize of natural science of the national outstanding achievement award for scientific research of colleges and universities of the Ministry of education in 2016.

Primary liver cancer has the characteristics of high malignancy, rapid growth, wide metastasis and high recurrence rate. Currently, sorafenib is the only targeted drug for primary liver cancer, but its final efficacy is not ideal and will lead to side effects. Liu Lianxin's team found that sorafenib can produce a tumor hypoxic microenvironment, and then induce enhanced tumor glycolysis, which ultimately reduces the efficacy, or even is ineffective. Curcumin extracted from Curcuma has the functions of reducing blood lipid, anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidation. Studies have shown that curcumin and its analogues can up regulate VHL protein and help sorafenib "turn defeat into victory". The combination of the two can improve the curative effect, prolong the 5-year survival rate and improve the prognosis of patients with primary liver cancer.