Role of curcumin in management of potentially malignant disorders: A review of literature

Potentially malignant disorders (PMD) are premalignant lesions or conditions having a high rate of malignant transformation. The risk of malignancy accounts for more than 50% in the commonly occurring oral PMD. There is a need to identify oral PMD early on and prevent their transformation into malignancy. Oxidative stress plays a major role in the pathogenesis of oral PMD. Curcumin, an antioxidant has shown promising results in oral PMD by reducing oxidative stress by various mechanisms. The aim of this article is to shed light on the use of curcumin in different oral PMD, its benefits, and shortcomings based on previously published literature.