Research progress on drug delivery systems for curcumin in the treatment of gastrointestinal tumors

Table 2 Clinical study of curcumin effects on gastrointestinal tumors

Cancer type	Study category	No.	Dosage regimen	Results
Colorectal cancer[37]	Phase II, randomized double-blind study	22	Capecitabine 825 mg/m2, Bid; curcumin 4 g, Bid	Curcumin does not increase the remission rate of patients
Esophageal cancer[38]	Controlled trial	1	Group A: 20 µg/mL curcumin-containing culture; Group B: 2 µg/mL Vincristine-containing culture; Combined group: 20 µg/mL curcumin+2 µg/mL vincristine-containing culture	Curcumin reverses multidrug resistance of esophageal cancer cells
Metastatic colorectal cancer[39]	Phase IIa, randomized controlled trial	28	Control group: FOLFOX1; Research Group: FOLFOX + curcumin 2 g/d	Curcumin plus FOLFOX regimen significantly improves chemotherapy tolerance and safety
Advanced gastric cancer[40]	Randomized controlled trial	56	Control group: FOLFOX; Research Group: FOLFOX + curcumin 25 µmol/L, 1/d	Curcumin plus FOLFOX regimen significantly improves clinical remission rate and reduces toxic side effects

¹FOLFOX is a chemotherapy regimen consisting of oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and 5-fluorouracil. Taking FOLFOX4 as an example, on the first and second day, intravenous infusion of oxaliplatin 85 mg/m² is administered for 2 h; intravenous infusion of leucovorin 200 mg/m² for 2 h; and 5-fluorouracil is given at 400 mg/m² as an initial intravenous bolus followed by a continuous infusion of 600 mg/m² for 22 h. This medication regimen is repeated every 2 wk.