Methods for treating diseases or disorders of the
skin which are characterized by
angiogenesis have been developed using
curcumin and
curcumin analogs. Based on the results obtained with
curcumin, it has been determined that other
angiogenesis inhibitors can also be used to treat these
skin disorders. It has further been discovered that curcumin acts to inhibit
angiogenesis in part by inhibition of
basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and thereby provides a means for treating other disorders characterized by elevated levels of bFGF, such as
bladder cancer, using curcumin and other analogues which also inhibit bFGF. Representative
skin disorders to be treated include the malignant diseases angiosarcoma, hemangioendothelioma,
basal cell carcinoma, squamous
cell carcinoma, malignant
melanoma and Karposi's
sarcoma, and the non-malignant diseases or conditions including
psoriasis,
lymphangiogenesis,
hemangioma of childhood, Sturge-Weber syndrome,
verruca vulgaris, neurofibromatosis,
tuberous sclerosis, pyogenic granulomas, recessive dystrophic
epidermolysis bullosa, venous ulcers,
acne,
rosacea, eczema, molluscum contagious,
seborrheic keratosis, and
actinic keratosis.