文摘
Background A growing number of preclinical studies have demonstrated that curcumin could be a promising anticancer drug; however, poor bioavailability has been the major obstacle for its clinical application. To overcome this problem, we developed a new form of curcumin (Theracurmin?) and reported high plasma curcumin levels could be safely achieved after a single administration of Theracurmin? in healthy volunteers. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the safety of repetitive administration of Theracurmin? in cancer patients. Methods Pancreatic or biliary tract cancer patients who failed standard chemotherapy were eligible for this study. Based on our previous pharmacokinetic study, we selected Theracurmin? containing 200?mg of curcumin (Level 1) as a starting dose, and the dose was safely escalated to Level 2, which contained 400?mg of curcumin. Theracurmin? was orally administered every day with standard gemcitabine-based chemotherapy. In addition to safety and pharmacokinetics data, NF-κB activity, cytokine levels, efficacy, and quality-of-life score were evaluated. Results Ten patients were assigned to level 1 and six were to level 2. Peak plasma curcumin levels (median) after Theracurmin? administration were 324?ng/mL (range, 47-,029?ng/mL) at Level 1 and 440?ng/mL (range, 179-,380?ng/mL) at Level 2. No unexpected adverse events were observed and 3 patients safely continued Theracurmin? administration for >9?months. Conclusions Repetitive systemic exposure to high concentrations of curcumin achieved by Theracurmin? did not increase the incidence of adverse events in cancer patients receiving gemcitabine-based chemotherapy.