The effect of curcumin on breast cancer cell viability, apoptosis, and the NF-kB Signaling Pathway

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer among women after skin cancer in the United States. In 2022, 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer, and 670000 people died. Curcumin, one of the natural compounds that originated from India, has been found to have potential anti-cancer properties by interacting with multiple signaling pathways. The purpose of this work is to examine the impacts of curcumin therapy on apoptosis, the proliferation of breast cancer cells, and therapeutic approaches that target the NF-kB system. The MCF-7 is a popular cell line for breast cancer research. We will employ the MTT assay and flow cytometry to evaluate the impacts of curcumin on cancer cell viability and apoptosis. Western blot will be used to determine whether curcumin decreases phosphor-IkB, which indicates the inhibition of gene expression. The findings will provide a better understanding of the effects of curcumin. Future research should focus on different cell signaling pathways that contribute to cell survival or cell death and various cell lines treated by curcumin. The purpose is to test that Curcumin can modulate the NF-κB signaling pathway, which in turn reduces the proliferation and promotes apoptosis in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.