In the search for more effective and selective therapies for colon cancer, the natural polyphenol curcumin has shown some promising anticancer properties, although it’s poorly taken up by the body.

Therefore, new thiazepane-based curcumin analogues have been developed to improve its solubility, stability and selectivity.

To explore their potential as selective anticancer therapeutics, the intracellular accumulation, bioactivity and molecular working mechanisms of these compounds will be investigated in cells models of both cancer and non-cancer origin. To this end, microscopic, analytical and molecular techniques will be applied. In addition, multicellular models will be used to scrutinize the effect of curcumin(oids) on the crosstalk between cancer associated fibroblasts (CAFs) and cancer cells, which plays an essential role in tumour progression and drug resistance.

Julie De Munck is a PhD student at the NutriFoodChem research group (Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering) and member of CRIG (Cancer Research Institute Ghent).