Radiosensitizing effect of Curcumin-loaded lipid nano particles in breast cancer cells

Radiation therapy (RT) is a common treatment used for many types of cancer, primary or advanced. It can be used to reduce the size of the tumor and also to relieve pain, discomfort or other symptoms. More than 50% of cancer patients receive RT, alone or in combination with surgery and/or chemotherapy [1]. Curcumin is a natural diphenolic compound extracted from the rhizome of Curcuma longa and it has broad application prospects (such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer). Many studies have shown that curcumin may inhibit cell proliferation in a variety of human cancer cell lines in vitro and may effectively prevent or treat various cancers in vivo. In particular, it has been reported that curcumin inhibits the proliferation of breast cancer cells and potentiates the effects of chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer [2,3]. Moreover, this molecule has been recently evaluated for its dose-dependent radioprotective and radiosensitizing activities. Administration of curcumin in patients would be able to kill the tumor cells by enhancing the effects of radiations and, at the same time, protect normal cells against their harmful effects. Therefore, curcumin can be very useful during radiotherapy of cancer [4]. Although curcumin has a collection of promising properties, its very low solubility in aqueous medium limits its bioavailability and hence the clinical efficacy [5]. In order to overcome these problems, different types of nanocarriers have been developed and among them lipid-based nanoparticles seem to be particularly promising for their biocompatibility and stability.