Marijuana Components Show ‘Promising Potential As Anticancer Agents’, Study Finds
A new scientific review on cannabis and cancer concludes that a variety of cannabinoids—including delta-9 THC, CBD and cannabigerol (CBG)—”show promising potential as anticancer agents through various mechanisms,” for example by limiting the growth and spread of tumors.
But authors acknowledged that obstacles to incorporating cannabis into cancer treatment remain, such as regulatory barriers and the need to determine optimal dosing.
“Cannabinoids, including Δ9-THC, CBD, and CBG, exhibit significant anticancer activities such as apoptosis induction, autophagy stimulation, cell cycle arrest, anti-proliferation, anti-angiogenesis, and metastasis inhibition,” says the report, published late last month in the journal Discover Oncology. “Clinical trials have demonstrated cannabinoids’ efficacy in tumor regression and health improvement in palliative care.”
The workings behind those apparent benefits, however, are still largely unknown. “Despite the evident anti-cancer properties of cannabinoids from numerous experimental results,” the review says, “the exact mechanisms of action still require extensive research.”
It adds: “Despite the positive outcomes of using cannabinoids in cancer therapy, there remain significant gaps in knowledge regarding their modes of action, effects on the tumor microenvironment, and the physiology of the signaling pathways they affect.”
Read the full article at Marijuana Moment.
Read the scientific review: “Exploring the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids in cancer by modulating signaling pathways and addressing clinical challenges“.
