Curcumin-based nanomedicines: A promising avenue for brain neoplasm therapy

Brain tumor ranks as the tenth most common cause of death among individuals with cancer globally, and those diagnosed with this condition continue to experience unfavorable outcomes and limited treatment options. The currently adopted treatment approaches, such as immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and chemotherapy, face several issues, such as high costs and severe side effects. Therefore, natural substances are highly promising options for creating novel antitumor medications. Curcumin is a promising polyphenol with significant efficacy against various ailments, including cancer. Although several in vitro studies have demonstrated promising results for the efficacy of curcumin, its poor bioavailability is the main reason for the lack of effectiveness of curcumin in clinical settings. Recently, nanotechnology has received significant interest in improving the therapeutic efficacy of natural compounds. The utilization of nanoparticles results in an improvement in the stability and bioavailability of antitumor substances, which in turn leads to a decrease in the required therapeutic doses and an increase in the efficiency of the treatment. In addition, nanoparticles have the potential to cross the blood-brain barrier, which is of utmost importance for drugs intended to treat brain neoplasms. In this context, the present review provides a brief overview of curcumin and its use as an anticancer agent in brain neoplasms, including the characteristics of brain neoplasms, the differences between the blood-brain barrier and the blood-brain tumor barrier, and current treatment strategies for brain neoplasms. Furthermore, various nanoparticle-based systems for delivering curcumin to brain neoplasms have been meticulously discussed.