Curcumin, the pungent yellow spice found in both turmeric and curry powders, blocks a key biological pathway needed for development of melanoma and other cancers, according to a study that appears in the journal Cancer. Researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center demonstrate how curcumin stops laboratory strains of…

Discusses one mechanism proposed for the two-step initiation/promotion scenario of the development of cancer called oncogenes and a possible alternate mechanism that may prevent tumors from developing. Uses the example of retinoblastoma to illustrate the mechanisms. States that these mechanisms may not be caused by the activation of oncogenes. (CW)