Curcumin triggered apoptosis and G0/G1 cycle arrest by heightening intracellular calcium levels in CRC LoVo and HT-29 cells, while curcumin and/or irinotecan produced ROS and elevated the expression levels of ERS-related proteins BIP, PDI and CHOP to activate the apoptotic pathway of the endoplasmic reticulum, which large amounts of ROS can further activate; thus, curcumin improved the ability of irinotecan to facilitate apoptosis in CRC cells by producing ROS and activating the ERS pathway (Huang et al., 2017). This evidence concerns the gene DDIT3 and colorectal carcinoma.