Curcumin for the Prevention of Radiation-induced Dermatitis in Breast Cancer Patients

Inclusion Criteria:

- Female with a diagnosis of, non-inflammatory breast adenocarcinoma and be referred for post-operative radiotherapy without concurrent chemotherapy.

- Participants must be at least 21 years of age.

- Participants must not be pregnant.

- Participants can be from any racial or ethnic origin.

- Breast adenocarcinoma could have been treated by either lumpectomy or mastectomy with or without adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy or hormonal treatment.

- Participants with in situ breast cancer are eligible.

- Participants who are prescribed concurrent hormone treatment with radiation treatment are eligible.

- Participants must be scheduled to receive five sessions of radiation therapy per week (1 session per day) for at least four weeks using standard (1.8-2.0 Gy per session)or Canadian (2.2-2.5 Gy per session)irradiation fractionation.

- A time period of three weeks must elapse after chemotherapy and surgery before beginning the study.

- The total dose prescribed to the whole breast should be 50 Gy or greater.

- Participants must be able to understand English and able to complete assessment forms (all assessment forms are in English).

- Participants must be able to swallow medication.

- Topical skin agents, e.g., Aquaphor, Cetaphil, or other emollients, are allowed either PRN or prophylactically.

- Participant must give informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

- Patients with bilateral breast cancer are not eligible.

- Patients who have had previous radiation therapy to the breast or chest are not eligible.

- Patients who are prescribed chemotherapy concurrently with radiation treatment are not eligible.

- Patients who will be receiving treatment with Herceptin (trastuzumab), anti-coagulants, or anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) drugs, e.g. Iressa (gefitinib), Erbitux (cetuximab, C225), concurrently with their radiation therapy are not eligible.

- Patients cannot have had breast reconstructions, implants, and/or expanders.

- Patients with known radiosensitivity syndromes (e.g., Ataxia-telangiectasia) are not eligible.

- Patients with collagen vascular disease, vasculitis, unhealed surgical sites, or breast infections are not eligible.

- Patients whose baseline blood tests meet the following criteria are not eligible: greater than or equal to Grade 2 change Hemoglobin (i.e., 25% decrease from baseline); greater than or equal to Grade 1 change in Platelets (i.e., less than 75,000/mm3); greater than or equal to Grade 2 change in PT and PTT(i.e., 1.5-2x upper level normal (ULN)); greater than or equal to Grade 1 change in AST, ALT (i.e., greater than 2.5x ULN); greater than or equal to Grade 1 change in Bilirubin (i.e., greater than 1.5x ULN); greater than or equal to Grade 1 change in Creatinine (i.e., greater than 2x ULN).