Novel therapeutic applications of cannabinoids in cancer disease

“The present review shows that cannabinoids exert their anti-cancer effects in a number of ways and in a variety of tissues. The endocannabinoid system is an almost ubiquitous signalling system involved in the control of cell fate. Recent studies have investigated the possibility that drugs targeting the endocannabinoid system might be used to retard or block cancer growth. The endocannabinoids have been shown to inhibit the growth of tumour cells in culture and animal models by modulating key cell signalling pathways. Therefore, the present review indicated that cannabinoids exert their anti-cancer effects in a number of ways and in a variety of tissues.

  • Triggering cell death, through a mechanism called apoptosis
  • Stopping cells from dividing
  • Preventing new blood vessels from growing into tumours
  • Reducing the chances of cancer cells spreading through the body, by stopping cells from moving or invading neighbouring tissue
  • Speeding up the cell’s internal ‘waste disposal machine’ – a process known as autophagy – which can lead to cell death
Furthermore, the novel therapeutic application of cannabinoids in cancer disease, described here, strongly support the idea that cannabinoids may induce benefical effect in cancer treatment.” http://www.oatext.com/novel-therapeutic-applications-of-cannabinoids-in-cancer-disease.php]]>

Endocannabinoid system and anticancer properties of cannabinoids

“Cannabinoids impact human body by binding to cannabinoids receptors (CB1 and CB2). The two main phytocannabinoids are Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). THC interacts with CB1 receptors occurring in central nervous system and is responsible for psychoactive properties of marijuana. CBD has low affinity to CB1 receptor, has no psychoactive characteristics and its medical applications can be wider. CB receptors are part of a complex machinery involved in regulation of many physiological processes – endocannabinoid system. Cannabinoids have found some applications in palliative medicine, but there are many reports concerning their anticancer affects. Agonists of CB1 receptors stimulate accumulation of ceramides in cancer cells, stress of endoplasmic reticulum (ER stress) and, in turn, apoptosis. Effects of cannabinoids showing low affinity to CB receptors is mediated probably by induction of reactive oxygen species production. Knowledge of antitumor activity of cannabinoids is still based only on preclinical studies and there is a necessity to conduct more experiments to assess the real potential of these compounds.” https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/fobio/12/1/article-p11.xml]]>

INSIGHT ON THE IMPACT OF ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM IN CANCER: A REVIEW.

British Journal of Pharmacology banner “In the last decades, the endocannabinoid system has attracted a great interest in medicine and cancer disease is probably one of its most promising therapeutic areas. On the one hand, endocannabinoid system expression has been found altered in numerous types of tumours compared to healthy tissue, and this aberrant expression has been related to cancer prognosis and disease outcome, suggesting a role of this system in tumour growth and progression that depends on cancer type. On the other hand, it has been reported that cannabinoids exert an anticancer activity by inhibiting the proliferation, migration and/or invasion of cancer cells; and also tumour angiogenesis. The endocannabinoid system may be considered as a new therapeutic target, although further studies to fully establish the effect of cannabinoids on tumour progression remain necessary.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29663308
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