Category Archives: Cancer

The pharmacologic and clinical effects of medical cannabis.

Posted on by

“Cannabis, or marijuana, has been used for medicinal purposes for many years. Several types of cannabinoid medicines are available in the United States and Canada. Dronabinol (schedule III), nabilone (schedule II), and nabiximols (not U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved) are cannabis-derived pharmaceuticals.

Medical cannabis or medical marijuana, a leafy plant cultivated for the production of its leaves and flowering tops, is a schedule I drug, but patients obtain it through cannabis dispensaries and statewide programs. The effect that cannabinoid compounds have on the cannabinoid receptors (CB(1) and CB(2) ) found in the brain can create varying pharmacologic responses based on formulation and patient characteristics. The cannabinoid Δ(9) -tetrahydrocannabinol has been determined to have the primary psychoactive effects; the effects of several other key cannabinoid compounds have yet to be fully elucidated. Dronabinol and nabilone are indicated for the treatment of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy and of anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome. However, pain and muscle spasms are the most common reasons that medical cannabis is being recommended.

Studies of medical cannabis show significant improvement in various types of pain and muscle spasticity. Reported adverse effects are typically not serious, with the most common being dizziness. Safety concerns regarding cannabis include the increased risk of developing schizophrenia with adolescent use, impairments in memory and cognition, accidental pediatric ingestions, and lack of safety packaging for medical cannabis formulations. This article will describe the pharmacology of cannabis, effects of various dosage formulations, therapeutics benefits and risks of cannabis for pain and muscle spasm, and safety concerns of medical cannabis use.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23386598

Medical Cannabis Provides Dramatic Relief for Sufferers of Chronic Ailments, Israeli Study Finds

Posted on by

“Though controversial, medical cannabis has been gaining ground as a valid therapy, offering relief to suffers of diseases such as cancer, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, ALS and more. The substance is known to soothe severe pain, increase the appetite, and ease insomnia where other common medications fail.”

 

“Overall, Klein believes that the healing powers of cannabis are close to miraculous, and has long supported an overhaul in governmental policy…”

Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130124123453.htm

Skin Cancer Patient Says Oil From Medical Marijuana Is A Cure

Posted on by

“A Ferndale man claims he’s found a cure for his cancer and it’s now legal in Michigan.”

%name Skin Cancer Patient Says Oil From Medical Marijuana Is A Cure.

“WWJ’s Sandra McNeill spoke with Michael McShane who claims he’s been using a topical oil made from medical marijuana on the skin cancer on his forehead and in just over two months it’s nearly gone.

“I’ve got biopsies, chart notes, photographs … in about three weeks I’m going to go back  and really wrap this part of the case up,” said McShane. “It’s made the same way a lot of the fragrances and perfumes are made, and the oil is applied, in my case, directly to the skin, and within 10 weeks my cancer is gone.

“From a topical standpoint I don’t experience any euphoria,” said McShane.

McShane freely admits that he has smoked marijuana since he was in his teens, “It went from a party to a cure for cancer,” he said.”

Read more: http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/08/29/skin-cancer-patient-says-oil-from-medical-marijuana-is-a-cure/

Cannabinoid receptors as novel targets for the treatment of melanoma

Posted on by

“Melanoma causes the greatest number of skin cancer-related deaths worldwide. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of cannabinoid receptor agonists, a new family of potential antitumoral compounds, at skin melanoma. Human melanomas and melanoma cell lines express CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors. Activation of these receptors decreased growth, proliferation, angiogenesis and metastasis, and increased apoptosis, of melanomas in mice. Cannabinoid antimelanoma activity was independent of the immune status of the animal, could be achieved without overt psychoactive effects and was selective for melanoma cells vs. normal melanocytes.

Cannabinoid antiproliferative action on melanoma cells…

 These findings may contribute to the design of new chemotherapeutic strategies for the management of melanoma.

 …the present report, together with the implication of CB2 receptors in the control of processes such as pain initiation, emesis, and inflammation, opens the attractive possibility of finding cannabinoid-based therapeutic strategies devoid of nondesired psychotropic side effects.

Specifically, the antiproliferative effect of cannabinoids reported here may set the basis for a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of malignant melanoma.”

Full text: http://www.fasebj.org/content/20/14/2633.long

Inhibition of skin tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo by activation of cannabinoid receptors

Posted on by

“Cannabinoids inhibit skin tumor growth in vivo. Here we show that the CB1 and the CB2 receptor are expressed in normal skin and skin tumors of mice and humans. In cell culture experiments pharmacological activation of cannabinoid receptors induced the apoptotic death of tumorigenic epidermal cells, whereas the viability of nontransformed epidermal cells remained unaffected. Local administration of the mixed CB1/CB2 agonist WIN-55,212-2 or the selective CB2 agonist JWH-133 induced a considerable growth inhibition of malignant tumors generated by inoculation of epidermal tumor cells into nude mice. Cannabinoid-treated tumors showed an increased number of apoptotic cells.

 

Cannabinoids, the active components of Cannabis sativa linnaeus (marijuana)…

Marijuana and its derivatives have been used in medicine for many centuries, and currently there is a renaissance in the study of the therapeutic effects of cannabinoids… cannabinoids may be potential antitumoral agents owing to their ability to induce the regression of various types of tumors, including lung adenocarcinoma, glioma, and thyroid epithelioma in animal models.

This background prompted us to explore whether (a) the skin and skin tumors express cannabinoid receptors; (b) cannabinoid receptor activation exerts a growth-inhibiting action on skin tumors in vivo; and (c) inhibition of angiogenesis is implicated in the anti-tumoral effect of cannabinoids.

Our data show that (a) CB1 and CB2 receptors are present in the skin and skin tumors; (b) local cannabinoid receptor activation induces the regression of skin tumors in vivo; and (c) at least two mechanisms may be involved in this action: direct apoptosis of tumor cells and inhibition of tumor angiogenesis.

These results support a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of skin tumors.”

Full text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC151833/

Revisiting CB1 receptor as drug target in human melanoma.

Posted on by

“Previous studies have indicated the antitumoral effect of human melanocytes, human melanoma cell lines expressing CB1 receptor (CB1), and of the peritumoral administration of endocannabinoids. In the present study, we systematically screened several human melanoma cell lines for the expression of CNR1 and demonstrated transcription of the authentic gene. The product of CNR1, the CB1 protein, was found localized to the cell membrane as well as to the cytoskeleton. Further, the studied human melanoma cell lines expressed functional CB1 since physiological and synthetic ligands, anandamide (AEA), Met-F-AEA, ACEA and AM251 showed a wide range of biological effects in vitro, for example anti-proliferative, proapoptotic and anti-migratory. More importantly, our studies revealed that systemic administration of a stable CB1 agonist, ACEA, into SCID mice specifically inhibited liver colonization of human melanoma cells.

Since therapeutic options for melanoma patients are still very limited, the endocannabinoid-CB1 receptor system may offer a novel target.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22447182

The Cannabinoid Receptors are Required for UV-Induced Inflammation and Skin Cancer Development

Posted on by

“Solar ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is an important carcinogen that leads to the development of skin cancer, which is the most common human cancer. However, the receptors that mediate UV-induced skin carcinogenesis have not yet been unequivocally identified. Here we showed that UV irradiation directly activates the cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB1/2)…

These data provide direct evidence indicating that the CB1/2 receptors play a key role in UV-induced inflammation and skin cancer development…

Manipulation of the cannabinoid receptors has been useful in the management of pain, treatment of osteoporosis, inflammation, and cancer…”

.Full text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2390870/

 

A Population-based Case-Control Study of Marijuana Use and Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Posted on by

Logo of nihpa

“Marijuana (Cannabis sativa) contains more than 60 unique compounds known as cannabinoids. Cannabinoids, constituents of marijuana smoke, have been recognized to have potential antitumor properties. However, the epidemiological evidence addressing the relationship between marijuana use and the induction of head and neck cancer (HNSCC) is inconsistent and conflicting. An early epidemiological study reported that marijuana use was associated with an elevated risk for head and neck cancer.  However, more recent studies have failed to confirm the association of marijuana use with an increased head and neck cancer risk.

 In fact, many of these studies reported non-significant protective estimates of effect, consistent with a possible anticarcinogenic action of cannabinoids.

A recent epidemiologic review raised the need for additional, well conducted, large studies to clarify the nature of the association of marijuana use with the risk of cancer, especially head and neck cancer. In order to further elucidate the association between marijuana use and head neck cancer risk, we assessed marijuana use in detail in a population-based case-control study.

After adjusting for potential confounders (including smoking and alcohol drinking), 10 to 20 years of marijuana use was associated with a significantly reduced risk of HNSCC.

Our study suggests that moderate marijuana use is associated with reduced risk of HNSCC.”

[Expression of cannabinoid receptor 2 in squamous cell carcinoma].

Posted on by

“The expression of CB2 protein and mRNA levels were detected in normal human skin and squamous cell carcinoma… Both the normal skin and squamous cell carcinoma expressed CB2, which was localized mainly in the basal cell layer and prickle cell layer in human skin with low expressions in the subcutaneous tissue.

 

CONCLUSION:

Squamous cell carcinoma over-expresses CB2 at both the protein and mRNA levels. High expression of CB2 in squamous cell carcinoma suggests an important role of CB2 in the tumorigenesis and development of squamous cell carcinoma.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20335147