Although the anticancer role of curcumin has been extensively addressed in preclinical research, only a few studies were carried out in humans, with conflicting results. The aim of this systematic review is to collate together the results of the therapeutic effect of curcumin in cancer patients. A literature search was carried out in Pubmed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials up to 29 January 2023. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) designed to evaluate the effects of curcumin on cancer progression, patient survival, or surgical/histological response were included. Seven out of 114 articles, published between 2016 and 2022, were analyzed. They evaluated patients with locally advanced and/or metastatic prostate, colorectal, and breast cancers, as well as multiple myeloma and oral leucoplakia. Curcumin was given as an add-on therapy in five studies. Cancer response was the most investigated primary endpoint and curcumin issued some positive results. On the contrary, curcumin was ineffective in improving overall or progression-free survival. The curcumin safety profile was favorable. In conclusion, available clinical evidence is not strong enough to support the therapeutic use of curcumin in cancer. New RCTs exploring the effects of different curcumin formulations in early-stage cancers would be welcome.

Background/Objectives: Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality, with tobacco smoking being the primary risk factor. However, a significant percentage of lung cancer patients are non-smokers, suggesting the involvement of other risk factors, including alcohol consumption. The IARC classifies ethanol as a Group 1 carcinogen, but unlike other alcoholic beverages, wine contains polyphenols with potential health benefits. Some meta-analyses even suggest a protective effect, which led us to conduct our own meta-analysis to further investigate this possible correlation. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and stratified the risk across population subgroups based on smoking status and gender. We then performed a categorical “highest vs. lowest” meta-analysis, comparing heavy consumers with very occasional drinkers, using a random-effects model. Only studies examining the risk of developing lung cancer in wine drinkers were included, excluding those with different outcomes, non-primary, ineligible populations, or involving pregnant women. The literature search was conducted in three databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The risk of bias was assessed with the Newcastle–Ottawa quality rating scale for both case–control and cohort studies (NOS), while statistical analyses were performed using the ProMeta 3.0 software. Results: The overall analysis showed a non-statistically significant 11% reduction in lung cancer risk (OR = 0.89; 95% CI: 0.77–1.03). The analysis among smokers revealed a significant 22% reduction in lung cancer risk associated with wine consumption (OR = 0.78; 95% CI: 0.62–0.97). However, this effect was lost when the analysis was conducted separately based on the study design. Conclusions: No correlation emerged between wine consumption and lung cancer incidence, either in a protective sense or in terms of increased risk. However, further studies are needed to investigate this correlation more accurately, particularly among non-smokers.