The complexation of poly–cyclodextrin (PCD) and curcumin was also effective at improving the intracellular uptake of curcumin into C4-2, DU145 and PC3 prostate cancer cells and its cytotoxic effects on these cancer cells as compared to free curcumin [93]. of curcumin limit its therapeutic efficacy in human. Of great therapeutic interest, the selective delivery of synthetic analogs or nanotechnology-based formulations of curcumin to tumors, alone or in combination with other anticancer drugs, may improve their chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic efficacies against cancer progression and relapse. Novel curcumin formulations may also be used to reverse drug resistance, eradicate the total cancer cell mass and Prochloraz manganese improve the anticarcinogenic efficacy of the current anti-hormonal and chemotherapeutic treatments for patients with various aggressive and lethal cancers. Background The deregulation and sustained activation of multiple tumorigenic pathways are typically implicated in cancer development and progression to locally advanced, aggressive and metastatic stages as well as in treatment resistance and disease relapse [1-5]. Consequently, the use of therapeutic agents acting on different deregulated gene products, alone or in combination therapy, may represent a potentially better strategy than the targeting of one specific oncogenic product to overcome treatment resistance and prevent cancer development and disease recurrence [1-5]. The non-toxic substance curcumin is the major bioactive ingredient extracted from the rhizome of the plant Curcuma longa Linn, also as known as turmeric Prochloraz manganese [6,7]. Curcumin has been used as a dietary supplement as well as a therapeutic agent in Chinese medicine and other Asian medicines for centuries [6,7]. Recently, curcumin, which is a polyphenolic compound, has emerged worldwide as a potent therapeutic substance for treating diverse human diseases. Curcumin displays a wide range of pharmacological properties against various human disorders, such as metabolic and infectious diseases, diabetes, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and cancer [6-14]. In vitro and in vivo studies have indicated that curcumin induces chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic effects against various types of human cancers. More specifically, curcumin exhibits anticarcinogenic effects on leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, brain cancer and melanoma as well as skin, cervix, lung, prostate, breast, ovarian, bladder, liver, gastrointestinal tract, pancreatic and colorectal epithelial cancers [2,9,15-36]. Curcumin displays strong anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-aging, chemopreventive, antitumoral, anti-angiogenic, anti-metastatic, radiosensitizing and chemosensitizing effects in cancer cells Smoc1 in a concentration- and cell type-dependent manner (Figures ?(Figures11 and ?and2)2) [2,7,9,10,22,37-39]. Of therapeutic interest, studies have indicated that curcumin as a single agent is safe and exhibits no major toxicity and only protects normal cells and organs at least in part by up-regulating the nuclear factor erythroid-derived-2 related factor 2 (Nrf2)-induced antioxidant gene products [8,38,40-46]. The anticarcinogenic effects induced by curcumin in cancer cells are mediated via the modulation of multiple oncogenic signaling transduction elements. Potential mechanisms of anticarcinogenic effects induced by curcumin in cancer cells include the down-regulation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) family members (EGFR/erbB1 and erbB2/HER2), insulin-like growth factor type-1 receptor (IGF-1R), sonic hedgehog (SHH/GLIs) and Wnt/-catenin and their downstream signaling effectors (Figures ?(Figures11 and ?and2).2). The intracellular signaling transduction elements inhibited by curcumin include the signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs), c-jun/activator protein-1 (AP-1), phosphatidylinositol-3′-kinase (PI3K)/Akt, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-B) and its targeted genes such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) (Figures Prochloraz manganese ?(Figures11 and ?and2)2) [2,9,17-21,24-30,47,48]. Other signaling components modulated through curcumin include the up-regulation of p21WAP1 and p27KIP1 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors and down-regulation of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, survivin, induced myeloid Prochloraz manganese leukemia cell differentiation protein-1 (Mcl-1) and glyoxalase 1 as well as the activation of Bax, Bad and caspase cascade-induced apoptosis (Figures ?(Figures11 and ?and2)2) [2,9,15,17-21,24]. Open in a separate window Figure 1 Tumorigenic cascades initiated by different growth factors in cancer cells and the anticarcinogenic effects induced by Prochloraz manganese dietary curcumin on the transduction signaling.