Can MMJ aid in battling Cancer? Looks like it.
- seniorsmmjnetwork
- Dec 27, 2014
- 2 min read
Indeed, a growing body of research has shown how Cannabidiol (CBD) can reduced the aggressiveness of human breast cancer cells in the lab. Doctors were already aware of the Cannabinoid - delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and that it has been shown to reduce pain and nausea in cancer patients, as well as demonstrating anticancer properties in tumors, but the non-psychotropic Cannabidiol (CBD) had largely gone unstudied.This news came from a study released five years ago by two Scientists at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute.
Last year, they released findings from a smaller study which showed a similar effect in mice. Currently a larger study is underway with animals and soon they hope to begin human clinical trials. Excited by the revelations, other labs around the world have begun to work on confirming these studies.
CBD works by blocking the activity of a gene called Id-1 which is believed to be responsible for the aggressive spread of cancer cells away from the original tumor site - a process called metastasis
The data emphasized however, that Cannabidiol works only on cancer cells that have these high levels of ID-1 and these do not include all cancerous tumors but, rather, aggressive, metastatic cells. But they've found such high levels in leukemia, colorectal, pancreatic, lung, ovarian, brain and other cancers.
"The preclinical trial data is very strong, and there's no toxicity. There's really a lot of research to move ahead with and to get people excited," said Sean McAllister, who along with scientist Pierre Desprez, has been studying the active molecules in marijuana - called Cannabinoids - as potent inhibitors of metastatic disease for the past decade.
McAllister and Desprez, hope to publish their results soon. Their research has received various grants through the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense, the California Breast Cancer Research Program and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
If you are interested and understand molecular science, here is the full medical report - http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/6/11/2921.full
Here are a few links to other sources covering this story -
SFGate
ABCnews
BBCnews
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