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Curcumin for Inflammation and Symptoms in Blood Disorders

This study is testing whether a curcumin supplement (containing curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, and piperine extract) can help reduce inflammation and improve symptoms in people with certain blood disorders. These conditions include clonal cytopenia of undetermined significance (CCUS), low-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (LR-MDS), and myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) like polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), or myelofibrosis (MF). Researchers want to see how the supplement changes levels of inflammatory cytokines (proteins involved in inflammation) and your symptom scores over 12 months. You may be able to join if you are 18 or older, have one of these diagnoses, and meet other health criteria. The study is currently recruiting 30 participants.

Study design
This is an interventional study with 30 planned participants. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive either the curcumin supplement or a placebo.
What's involved
You would take the curcumin supplement or placebo by mouth twice daily for 12 months. You would also have blood samples collected and may undergo bone marrow aspiration and biopsy.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Your inflammatory cytokine levels and symptom scores will be measured at baseline, 3 months, and 12 months.

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NCT06063486

Curcumin to Improve Inflammation and Symptoms in Patients With Clonal Cytopenia of Undetermined Significance, Low Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome, and Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Recruiting
PHASE2Ages 18+InterventionalTreatment
University of Southern California
~30 participants
Updated 2026-03-27 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Biospecimen CollectionBone Marrow AspirationBone Marrow BiopsyCurcumin/ Demethoxycurcumin/Bisdemethoxycurcumin-containing SupplementPiperine Extract (Standardized)Placebo Administration

At a glance

Recruiting sites
2 of 2 listed sites are recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Mean change in peripheral blood levels of inflammatory cytokines
Measured over At baseline, 3 months, and 12 months
+2 more outcomes measured

Conditions

Clonal Cytopenia of Undetermined Significance
Essential Thrombocythemia
Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Myelofibrosis
Polycythemia Vera

Explore related trials

Clonal Cytopenia of Undetermined SignificanceEssential ThrombocythemiaMyelodysplastic SyndromeMyelofibrosisPolycythemia Vera

Where it's being run

2 sites across 1 states
California2

Study leadership

  • Casey L O'Connell, MD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · University of Southern California

Who to contact

Christine Duran
[email protected]
323-865-0371
Email the study team

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Do you actually qualify for this trial?

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Age \>= 18
Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) =\< 2
Ability to understand and willingness to sign a written informed consent
Diagnosis of polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocytosis (ET) or myelofibrosis (MF) per World Health Organization (WHO) 2016 diagnostic criteria
Presence of at least one symptom measurable using the MPN-/Symptom Assessment Form (SAF) with a severity greater than 3
A diagnosis of CCUS or LR-MDS
CCUS defined as persistent cytopenia for \> 6 months (hemoglobin \[Hgb\] \< 11.3 g/dL \[7 mmol/L\] in women and Hgb \< 12.9 g/dL \[8 mmol/L\] in men, platelet \< 150 x 10\^9/L or neutrophils \< 1.8 x 10\^9/L), normal cytogenetics, presence of detectable MDS associated mutations and bone marrow morphology non-diagnostic of MDS or any other malignancies
LR-MDS as defined by WHO 2016 diagnosis criteria
Minimum baseline symptom score of 25 in the fatigue section of the symptom questionnaire

Exclusion

Patients with intake of curcumin as a dietary supplement, including multivitamin and unwillingness to quit more than 24 hours before study start
Patients with inability to understand and adhere to information given
Patients receiving active treatment for another malignancy except with hormonal therapy for a malignancy considered to be in remission or growth factors (erythropoietin, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor \[G-CSF\] and luspatercept)
Patients with intermediate or high-risk MDS
Patients must not be pregnant or nursing
Patients must not be on any oral or intravenous steroid or any other anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen \> 200mg/week or 400mg/month, naproxen of any dose, \> 325mg aspirin daily, any herbal anti-inflammatory concoction of any dose)

What this trial measures

  • Mean change in peripheral blood levels of inflammatory cytokinesAt baseline, 3 months, and 12 months

    Interleukin (IL) 1beta, IL-6, IL-18, transforming growth factor-beta, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha will be assessed. Mean inflammatory cytokine changes in the treatment group will be compared to that of the control group. A two-sided two-sample unequal-variance t-test will be applied to compare the difference of the mean of changes at 12-months from the baseline measurement between the two arms, respectively. P-values from the test and the 95% confidence interval of the estimated difference will be reported for each of the inflammatory cytokines.

  • Mean change in symptom scores for clonal cytopenia of undetermined significance and low risk myelodysplastic syndrome patientsAt baseline, 3 months, 12 months

    Symptoms scores will be assessed using the European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 version 3 (EORTC-QLQ-C30 version 3).This is a validated tool for assessing health-related quality of life in cancer patients. The questionnaire is composed of both multi-item scales and single-item measures. These include five functional scales, three symptom scales, a global health status / QoL scale, and six single items. Each of the multi-item scales includes a different set of items - no item occurs in more than one scale. Scores range from 0 to 100. A high scale score represents a higher response level. A high score for a functional scale represents a high/healthy level of functioning. A high score for the global health status/ QoL represents a high QoL and a high score for a symptom scale/item represents a high level of symptomatology/problems.(no symptom) to 10 (worst possible symptom).

  • Mean change in symptom scores for myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) patientsAt baseline, 3 months, 12 months

    MPN-related symptoms will be assessed using the Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Symptom Assessment Form Total Symptom Score. Possible scores range from 0 (no symptom) to 10 (worst possible symptom).