Curcumin suppresses growth of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether curcumin would trigger cell death in the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines CCL 23, CAL 27, and UM-SCC1 in a dose-dependent fashion. Experimental Design: HNSCC cells were treated with curcumin and assayed for in vitro growth suppression using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiozol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analyses. Expression of p16, cyclin D1, phospho-I kappa beta, and nuclear factor-kappa beta (NF-kappa beta) were measured by Western blotting, gel shift, and immunofluorescence. Results: Addition of curcumin resulted in a dose-dependent growth inhibition of all three cell lines. Curcumin treatment resulted in reduced nuclear expression of NF-kappa beta. This effect on NF-kappa beta was further reflected in the decreased expression of phospho-I kappa beta-alpha. Whereas the expression of cyclin D1, an NF-kappa beta-activated protein, was also reduced, there was no difference in the expression of p16 at the initial times after curcumin treatment. In vivo growth studies were done using nude mice xenograft tumors. Curcumin was applied as a noninvasive topical paste to the tumors and inhibition of tumor growth was observed in xenografts from the CAL27 cell line. Conclusions: Curcumin treatment resulted in suppression of HNSCC growth both in vitro and in vivo. Our data support further investigation into the potential use for curcumin as an adjuvant or chemopreventive agent in head and neck cancer.