[Effects of curcumin on tumor growth and immune function in prostate cancer-bearing mice].

Objective: To explore the effects of curcumin (CCM) on tumor growth and immune function in mice bearing RM-1 prostate cancer cells.

Methods: A prostate cancer model was established in 50 C57BL/6 mice by subcutaneous inoculation of RM-1 cells. The model mice were randomly assigned to intraperitoneal injection of 10% dimethyl sulfoxide at 0.2 ml (the model control group), cyclophosphamide at 20 mg/kg (the CTX group), or CCM at 50 mg/kg (the low-dose CCM group), 100 mg/kg (the medium-dose CCM group) or 200 mg/kg (the high-dose CCM group), respectively, all once a day for 14 successive days, followed by measurement of the tumor weight, calculation of the tumor-inhibition rate, and detection of immunological indicators.

Results: The tumor weight was significantly decreased in the CTX (［1.32 ± 0.06］ g), low-dose CCM (［1.1.54 ± 0.08］ g), medium-dose CCM (［1.48 ± 0.08］ g), and high-dose CCM groups (［1.42 ± 0.07］ g) as compared with that in the model control group (［2.09 ± 0.10］ g) (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), with no statistically significant differences among the former four groups (P > 0.05). The tumor-inhibition rates in the CTX and low-, medium- and high-dose CCM groups were 36.84%, 27.27%, 29.18% and 32.06%, respectively. All the immunological indicators except the CD4+/CD8+ ratio were remarkably reduced in the CTX group as compared with those in the model control (P < 0.01), but increased in the CCM groups in comparison with those in the CTX group (P < 0.01).

Conclusions: Curcumin has an anti-tumor effect and enhances immune function in prostate cancer-bearing mice.