Marijuana could suppress Tumor Cell Growth
German researchers have said that Cannabinoids, the active components in marijuana that reduce the side effects of cancer treatment, may in fact inhibit tumor cell growth.
Robert Ramer and Burkhard Hinz of the University of Rostock in Germany investigated whether and by what mechanism cannabinoids inhibit tumor cell invasion.
This study found cannabinoids to suppress tumor cell invasion and stimulated the expression of TIMP-1, an inhibitor of a group of enzymes that are involved in tumor cell invasion.
“To our knowledge, this is the first report of TIMP-1-dependent anti-invasive effects of cannabinoids,” said the study authors in a statement.
“This signaling pathway may play an important role in the anti-metastatic action of cannabinoids, whose potential therapeutic benefit in the treatment of highly invasive cancers should be addressed in clinical trials,” they concluded.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Note that we’ve known that THC is an anti-carcinogen since the 1975 studies on rats.
Please read below, first consider cannabidiol then THC.
Cannabidiol
Cannabidiol has also been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth, with low potency in non-cancer cells. Although the inhibitory mechanism is not yet fully understood, Ligresti et al suggest that “cannabidiol exerts its effects on these cells through a combination of mechanisms that include either direct or indirect activation of CB2 and TRPV1 receptors, and induction of oxidative stress, all contributing to induce apoptosis.”[11] In November 2007, researchers at the California Pacific Medical Center reported that CBD shows promise for controlling the spread of metastatic breast cancer. In-vitro CBD downregulates the activity of the gene Id-1 which is responsible for tumor metastasis.[7]
^ a b McAllister SD, Christian RT, Horowitz MP, Garcia A, Desprez PY$$ (2007). “Cannabidiol as a novel inhibitor of Id-1 gene expression in aggressive breast cancer cells”. Mol. Cancer Ther. 6 (11): 2921–7. doi:10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-07-0371. PMID 18025276.
# ^ Ligresti A, Moriello AS, Starowicz K, et al (2006). “Antitumor activity of plant cannabinoids with emphasis on the effect of cannabidiol on human breast carcinoma”. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 318 (3): 1375–87. doi:10.1124/jpet.106.105247. PMID 16728591.
THC
The major psychoactive component in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, has been shown to have anticarcinogenic activity.[1]
# ^ Chan PC, Sills RC, Braun AG, Haseman JK, Bucher JR (1996). “Toxicity and carcinogenicity of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol in Fischer rats and B6C3F1 mice”. Fundamental and applied toxicology : official journal of the Society of Toxicology 30 (1): 109-17. PMID 8812248.
^ Anticancer activity of cannabinoids (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 55, No. 3, September 1975, pp.597-602). Retrieved on 2007-10-27.