THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A potentially breakthrough cancer-fighting technology involving a molecule extracted from turmeric has won

's Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences a US patent.

According to Lissy Krishnan, head of Sree Chitra's research team, delivery of "curcumin" directly to the affected tissues rather than through conventional oral or intravenous methods enables it to target malignant cancer cells while sparing the healthy ones around them.

Turmeric has proven anti-cancer properties and curcumin, a molecule extracted from it, is easily absorbed by the body and aids blood clotting, Krishnan said. At Sree Chitra, research funded by the Indian Council for Medical Research focused on processing curcumin to form a easy-to-use wafer configuration. When applied to body tissues, the curcumin present in the wafer is released into tissue fluids.

Human albumin, or rich proteins present in the fibrin clot produced from heavy bleeding, binds albumin receptors to cancer cells, thereby permitting its entry into the cells. Simultaneously, the fibrin clot is removed by the body's natural clot breakdown mechanism without any adverse effect.

"The fibrin wafer is targeted for implantation into the affected site after surgical removal of cancer tissue for killing any remaining malignant cells that have the potential to cause recurrence of cancer or spread to other parts of the body. In addition to drug delivery, the fibrin wafer can promote blood clotting at the surgical site," said Asha Kishore, director of Sree Chitra.

The institute is ready to transfer the technology for future development of curcumin as an anti-cancer treatment through animal and clinical trials. "The US patent adds value to our efforts to transfer technology and boosts the industry's confidence in exploring validation and trials with international markets in mind,'' Kishore said.