The
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to 4,255,892 deaths worldwide. Although
COVID-19 vaccines are available, mutant forms of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have reduced the effectiveness of
vaccines. Patients with
cancer are more vulnerable to
COVID-19 than patients without
cancer. Identification of new drugs to treat
COVID-19 could reduce mortality rate, and
traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) has shown potential in
COVID-19 treatment. In this study, we focused on
lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients with
COVID-19. We aimed to investigate the use of
curcumol, a TCM, to treat LUAD patients with
COVID-19, using network pharmacology and systematic bioinformatics analysis. The results showed that LUAD and patients with
COVID-19 share a cluster of common deregulated targets. The network pharmacology analysis identified seven core targets (namely,
AURKA, CDK1, CCNB1, CCNB2, CCNE1, CCNE2, and TTK) of
curcumol in patients with
COVID-19 and LUAD. Clinicopathological analysis of these targets demonstrated that the expression of these targets is associated with poor patient survival rates. The bioinformatics analysis further highlighted the involvement of this target cluster in DNA damage response,
chromosome stability, and pathogenesis of LUAD. More importantly, these targets influence cell-signaling associated with the Warburg effect, which supports SARS-CoV-2 replication and inflammatory response. Comparative transcriptomic analysis on in vitro LUAD cell further validated the effect of
curcumol for treating LUAD through the control of cell cycle and DNA damage response. This study supports the earlier findings that
curcumol is a potential treatment for patients with LUAD and
COVID-19.