“The aim of this study, therefore, is to report our experience with curcumin, combined with either an IMiD or PI, in the treatment of older (>55 years) MM patients intolerant of Dexamethasone.”
According to the research article linked and excerpted below, “curcumin can potentiate not only the cytotoxic effect of multiple agents used in the treatment of MM, but also enhance the chemo‐sensitizing effects of these agents.”
Just as important, “Curcumin, when used in a combination regimen in multiple myeloma patients, has comparable progression‐free survival 
without the adverse effects of steroid‐based combination therapies…”
The study is saying that curcumin enhances Imids (Revlimid) and PI (Velcade) chemotherapy regimens without causing the side effects that dexamethasone causes.
I may be missing something here? Why would anyone want to take dexamethasone when they could take curcumin instead??? I mean, the study below focuses on elderly MM patients. But most MM patient I know of experiences side effects from dex.
Or to put is differently, I myself experience awful side effects from dexamethasone. I have read comments of thousands of MM patients and survivors over the years citing debilitating side effects caused by dexamethasone.
“Imid” and “Protease Inhibitor” are the category of chemotherapy regimens that
IMID-
- Thalidomide
- Revlimid
- Pomalyst
PI-
- Bortezomib
- Carfilzomib
- Ixazomib
Conventional oncology will not prescribe any therapy that is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). I’m fine with that. That is how medicine works in the United States.
But I also know about the strengths and weaknesses of conventional MM oncology. And dexamethasone, at least at the doses prescribed by MM oncologists, is definitely a weakness.
Please read the studies linked below. Consider curcumin.
Thanks,
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
“Curcumin, when used in a combination regimen in multiple myeloma patients, has comparable progression‐free survival without the adverse effects of steroid‐based combination therapies that is curcumin may be a viable alternative to corticosteroids in combination with an immunomodulatory drug or proteasome inhibitor…
Treatment regimens typically involve a steroid, such as dexamethasone (Dex), used in combination with either an ImiD (ie, thalidomide, lenalidomide, or pomalidomide) or a PI (ie, bortezomib, carfilzomib, or ixazomib).3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Despite its demonstrated effectiveness in treating MM, the administration of Dex remains a challenge, particularly in elderly patients, due to its side effects: fatigue, weight gain, fluid retention, poor impact on mental health, osteoporosis and hyperglycemia, or poor diabetic control.5…
However, continuous Rd for greater than 72 weeks was associated with an augmentation of adverse effects such as infection(s), thromboembolic events, and cataracts. These adverse effects were, at least partly, attributable to the Dex component of the regimen.6 Dex‐related side effects have also been observed in other studies.4…
The aim of this study, therefore, is to report our experience with curcumin, combined with either an IMiD or PI, in the treatment of older (>55 years) MM patients intolerant of Dex…
Curcumin has a demonstrated cytotoxic effect on myeloma activity12, 13 as well as a synergistic effect when used in combination with an IMiD or PI.14, 15…
RESULTS-
There were fifteen MM patients intolerant of Dex in whom curcumin was used in combination with IMiD’s or PI’s. Of the fifteen, seven patients had a history of diabetes and three were grossly obese with a BMI > 40. Six patients had a history of mental health issues including anxiety/depression. Two patients with poorly controlled hypertension and significant renal impairment (eGFR < 25) could not tolerate dexamethasone therapy. The characteristics of each patient at time of diagnosis, their treatment, and follow‐up outcomes as of June 2019 are illustrated in Table .
There were six females and nine males with a mean age of 72 years (range 57‐86) included in the study. There were 12 patients with IgG paraproteinemia (nine kappa and three lambda) and three patients with IgA paraproteinemia (two lambda and one kappa)…
The multitude of published studies, including an in vitro study carried out in our laboratory,16 suggest that curcumin can potentiate not only the cytotoxic effect of multiple agents used in the treatment of MM, but also enhance the chemo‐sensitizing effects of these agents.
The implications arising from these observations may be of important clinical benefit: i) curcumin studies can be designed to assess the additive antimyeloma effects of curcumin to the current treatment protocols and ii) curcumin may be used as an alternative to corticosteroids in such protocols…
We demonstrate that curcumin in combination with other antimyeloma therapies was able to reduce paraprotein load by 38% and plasmacytosis by 59% over this study period.
Multiple myeloma is a heterogenous disease from a cytogenetic abnormalities point of view.24 Eight of the 15 patients demonstrated high‐risk cytogenetic and FISH abnormalities with many of these showing evolution during the course of their illness…
Curcumin has been reported to induce anticancer and antiproliferative activity via multiple pathways including induction of apoptosis by caspase activation, downregulation of essential transcription factors like NF‐kB, inhibition of c‐Jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK), and protein tyrosine kinases and downregulation of growth factor receptors like HER2 and EGFR.10 Banerjee et al19 establish that impairment of proteasome activity by DYRK2 inhibition is a major mechanism of action for curcumin in the context of the alleviation of proteasome‐dependent neoplastic malignancies such as MM.
Consequently, curcumin possesses the potential to impede myeloma activity and improve the quality of life in MM patients…”
“Side effects requiring immediate medical attention
Along with its needed effects, dexamethasone may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.
Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur while taking dexamethasone:
More common
- Aggression
- agitation
- anxiety
- blurred vision
- decrease in the amount of urine
- dizziness
- fast, slow, pounding, or irregular heartbeat or pulse
- headache
- irritability
- mental depression
- mood changes
- nervousness
- noisy, rattling breathing
- numbness or tingling in the arms or legs
- pounding in the ears
- swelling of the fingers, hands, feet, or lower legs
- trouble thinking, speaking, or walking
- troubled breathing at rest
- weight gain
