“An internet search with searchwords “cannabis cures cancer” produce a wealth of sites claiming that cannabis has this effect. These sites are freely accessible to the general public and thus contribute to public opinion. But do Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9 -THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) cure cancer? In the absence of clinical data other than a safety study and case reports, preclinical data should be evaluated in terms of its predictive value. Using a strict approach where only concentrations and/or models relevant to the clinical situation are considered, the current preclinical data does not yet provide robust evidence that systemically administered Δ9 -THC will be useful for the curative treatment of cancer. There is more support for an intratumoural route of administration of higher doses of Δ9 -THC. CBD produces effects in relevant concentrations and models, although more data are needed concerning its use in conjunction with other treatment strategies.”
Category Archives: Cancer
A selective, non-toxic CB2 cannabinoid o-quinone with in vivo activity against triple negative breast cancer.
“Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents a subtype of breast cancer characterized by high aggressiveness. There is no current targeted therapy for these patients whose prognosis, as a group, is very poor.
Here, we report the synthesis and evaluation of a potent antitumor agent in vivo for this type of breast cancer designed as a combination of quinone/cannabinoid pharmacophores.
This new compound (10) has been selected from a series of chromenopyrazolediones with full selectivity for the non-psychotropic CB2 cannabinoid receptor and with efficacy in inducing death of human TNBC cell lines.
The dual concept quinone/cannabinoid was supported by the fact that compound 10 exerts antitumor effect by inducing cell apoptosis through activation of CB2 receptors and through oxidative stress.
Notably, it did not show either cytotoxicity on non-cancerous human mammary epithelial cells nor toxic effects in vivo suggesting that it may be a new therapeutic tool for the management of TNBC.”
Modulation of the tumor microenvironment and inhibition of EGF/EGFR pathway: Novel anti-tumor mechanisms of Cannabidiol in breast cancer.
“The anti-tumor role and mechanisms of Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic cannabinoid compound, are not well studied especially in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).
In the present study, we analyzed CBD’s anti-tumorigenic activity against highly aggressive breast cancer cell lines including TNBC subtype.
We show here -for the first time-that CBD significantly inhibits epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced proliferation and chemotaxis of breast cancer cells.
Further studies revealed that CBD inhibits EGF-induced activation of EGFR, ERK, AKT and NF-kB signaling pathways as well as MMP2 and MMP9 secretion.
In addition, we demonstrated that CBD inhibits tumor growth and metastasis in different mouse model systems.
Analysis of molecular mechanisms revealed that CBD significantly inhibits the recruitment of tumor-associated macrophages in primary tumor stroma and secondary lung metastases…
In summary, our study shows -for the first time-that CBD inhibits breast cancer growth and metastasis through novel mechanisms by inhibiting EGF/EGFR signaling and modulating the tumor microenvironment.
These results also indicate that CBD can be used as a novel therapeutic option to inhibit growth and metastasis of highly aggressive breast cancer subtypes including TNBC, which currently have limited therapeutic options and are associated with poor prognosis and low survival rates.”
New insights into antimetastatic and antiangiogenic effects of cannabinoids.
“Cannabinoids exert antitumorigenic effects via multiple mechanisms.
Of these, antimetastatic and antiangiogenic actions have attracted considerable interest in the past years…
This chapter reviews the cell- and substance-specific antitumorigenic mechanisms of cannabinoids with particular consideration of their antimetastatic/anti-invasive and antiangiogenic actions.
In addition, beneficial interactions of cannabinoids with currently used chemotherapeutics as well as the influence of cannabinoids on tumor-immune surveillance are addressed.
Collectively, the currently available data suggest cannabinoids as a potential tool in modern cancer pharmacotherapy.”
Cannabidiol protects against doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy by modulating mitochondrial function and biogenesis.
“Doxorubicin (DOX) is a widely used, potent chemotherapeutic agent; however, its clinical application is limited because of its dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. DOX’s cardiotoxicity involves increased oxidative/nitrative stress, impaired mitochondrial function in cardiomyocytes/endothelial cells, and cell death.
Cannabidiol is a non-psychotropic constituent of marijuana, which is well-tolerated in humans, with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and recently discovered antitumor properties.
We aimed to explore the effects of cannabidiol in a well-established mouse model of DOX-induced cardiomyopathy…
Treatment with cannabidiol markedly improved DOX-induced cardiac dysfunction, oxidative/nitrative stress and cell death. Cannabidiol also enhanced the DOX-induced impaired cardiac mitochondrial function and biogenesis.
These data suggest that cannabidiol may represent a novel cardioprotective strategy against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity, and the above described effects on mitochondrial function and biogenesis may contribute to its beneficial properties described in numerous other models of tissue injury.”
Medical marijuana for cancer.
“Marijuana has been used for centuries, and interest in its medicinal properties has been increasing in recent years. Investigations into these medicinal properties has led to the development of cannabinoid pharmaceuticals such as dronabinol, nabilone, and nabiximols.
Dronabinol is best studied in the treatment of nausea secondary to cancer chemotherapy and anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for those indications.
Nabilone has been best studied for the treatment of nausea secondary to cancer chemotherapy. There are also limited studies of these drugs for other conditions.
Nabiximols is only available in the United States through clinical trials, but is used in Canada and the United Kingdom for the treatment of spasticity secondary to multiple sclerosis and pain.
Studies of marijuana have concentrated on nausea, appetite, and pain.
This article will review the literature regarding the medical use of marijuana and these cannabinoid pharmaceuticals (with emphasis on indications relevant to oncology)”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25503438
“Both cannabis and cannabinoid pharmaceuticals can be helpful for a number of problems, including many affecting patients with cancer… given the limitations inherent in using oral medications to treat nausea and vomiting, inhalation of marijuana or a cannabinoid may be better than oral ingestion in treating this condition.” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3322/caac.21260/full
Regulation of circulating endocannabinoids associated with cancer and metastases in mice and humans.
“Endocannabinoids may modify cancer development, progression and associated pain.
We determined whether cancer-evoked dysregulations in this system become manifest in altered tissue and plasma endocannabinoids…
The endocannabinoid system was subject to cancer-associated regulations to an extent that led to measurable changes in circulating endocannabinoid levels, emphasizing the importance of the endocannabinoid system in the pathophysiology of cancer.”
The antitumor action of cannabinoids on glioma tumorigenesis.
“Cannabinoids are a class of chemical compounds with a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects, mediated by two specific plasma membrane receptors (CB1 and CB2).
Recently, CB1 and CB2 expression levels have been detected in human tumors, including those of brain.
Cannabinoids-endocannabinoids exert anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, anti-invasive, anti-metastatic and pro-apoptotic effects in different cancer types, both in vitro and in vivo in animal models, after local or systemic administration.
We present the available experimental and clinical data, to date, regarding the antitumor action of cannabinoids on the tumorigenesis of gliomas.”
The Combination of Cannabidiol and Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol Enhances the Anticancer Effects of Radiation in an Orthotopic Murine Glioma Model.
“High-grade glioma is one of the most aggressive cancers in adult humans and long-term survival rates are very low as standard treatments for glioma remain largely unsuccessful.
Cannabinoids have been shown to specifically inhibit glioma growth as well as neutralize oncogenic processes such as angiogenesis.
In an attempt to improve treatment outcome, we have investigated the effect of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) both alone and in combination with radiotherapy in a number of glioma cell lines (T98G, U87MG, and GL261).
Cannabinoids were used in two forms, pure (P) and as a botanical drug substance (BDS).
Results demonstrated a duration- and dose-dependent reduction in cell viability with each cannabinoid and suggested that THC-BDS was more efficacious than THC-P, whereas, conversely, CBD-P was more efficacious than CBD-BDS.
…increase in radiosensitivity was associated with an increase in markers of autophagy and apoptosis.
These in vitro results were recapitulated in an orthotopic murine model for glioma, which showed dramatic reductions in tumor volumes when both cannabinoids were used with irradiation.
Taken together, our data highlight the possibility that these cannabinoids can prime glioma cells to respond better to ionizing radiation, and suggest a potential clinical benefit for glioma patients by using these two treatment modalities.”
Antitumor activity of cannabigerol against human oral epitheloid carcinoma cells.
“Boron trifluoride etherate on silica-A modified Lewis acid reagent (VII). Antitumor activity of cannabigerol against human oral epitheloid carcinoma cells.
Abstract
Geraniol (1), olivetol (2), cannabinoids (3 and 4) and 5-fluorouracil (5) were tested for their growth inhibitory effects against human oral epitheloid carcinoma cell lines (KB) and NIH 3T3 fibroblasts using two different 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and sulforhodamine B protein (SRB) assay.
Cannabigerol (3) exhibited the highest growth-inhibitory activity against the cancer cell lines.”