----. They treated the oesophageal cancer cells with curcumin - a chemical found in the spice turmeric, which gives curries a distinctive yellow colour - and found it started to kill them within 24 hours. The cells also began to digest themselves. Previous studies had suggested that curcumin could suppress tumours, although it lost its anticancer attributes quickly when ingested. However, the Irish study suggests a potential for scientists to develop curcumin as an anti-cancer drug to treat oesophageal cancer in particular.