THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, killed aggressive brain cancer cells in 2 Spanish patients while leaving healthy cells undamaged. This detailed study followed up promising results on 9 patients that responded favorably to THC in 2006. Mechanistic studies with mice have shown that THC restores normal cell life and death regulation processes. Cancer cells are signaled to die by receptors that are turned on by THC.
The patients that responded to treatment appear to have cancers that are similar to Ted Kennedy's. This research gives some hope for treatment of Ted's cancer, which has an otherwise bleak prognosis.
Unlike most anti-tumor agents THC does not harm healthy cells. It leaves healthy cells untouched while activating processes that signal cancer cells to die.
The Spanish researchers focused on two patients suffering from "recurrent glioblastoma multiforme," a fast-moving form of brain cancer. Both patients had been enrolled in a clinical trial designed to test THC's potential as a cancer therapy.
Using electron microscopes to analyze brain tissue taken both before and after a 26- to 30-day THC treatment regimen, the researchers found that THC eliminated cancer cells while it left healthy cells intact.
This study is one of many studies of the anticancer activity of THC. It's results are not unique in showing that THC induces cancer cell death. A study of THC treatment of leukemia showed successful results in the lab and revealed mechanisms of action.
THC and other cannabinoids can induce apoptosis in a variety of tumor cell lines, thereby raising the possibility of the use of cannabinoids as novel anticancer agents (11). However, the use of cannabinoids that activate CB1 receptors is severely limited by their psychoactive effects. The fact that malignant cells of the immune system express CB2receptors that can be targeted to induce apoptosis offers a novel approach to use CB2 select agonists as anticancer drugs with no psychoactive properties.
Because CB2receptors are almost exclusively expressed on immune cells, the use of CB2select agonists should not exert generalized toxicity that is common to othermodes of treatment, such as radiation or chemotherapy. (my bold)
Onepossible drawback could be that use of select CB2agonists to kill tumor cells may also cause immunosuppression. Thus, further studies are necessary to address the relative sensitivity of normal and transformed immune cells to CB2agonists in vivo. Identifying the molecular pathways that trigger apoptosis following ligation of cannabinoid receptors is critical in understanding how endogenous and exogenous cannabinoids may regulate the growth of normal and transformed immune cells. The current study provides useful and novel information on developing a new class of anticancer drugs by targeting cannabinoid B2 receptors.
Smoking marijuana has not been shown to help treat cancer, but more concentrated doses of its primary active ingredient THC has shown very promising results. Marijuana is a medicinal drug that has been used by traditional Chinese practitioners for 3000 years. Further research on marijuana's active compounds may lead to treatments for a wide variety of cancers, including brain cancers that have heretofor been impossible to cure. The Spanish researchers are very optimistic.
"These results may help to design new cancer therapies based on the use of medicines containing the active principle of marijuana and/or in the activation of autophagy," Velasco said.
UPDATE: Senator Kennedy renews the war on cancer
Senator Kennedy deserves our support to get this bill passed. Hat tip to SamanthaB who found the link I lost.
March 26, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bill will Renew America’s Commitment to Fighting Cancer and Finding Cures
WASHINGTON, DC— Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Kay Bailey Hutchison today introduced the 21st Century Cancer Access to Life-Saving Early detection, Research and Treatment (ALERT) Act, a bill to comprehensively address the challenges our nation faces in battling this disease. This is the first sweeping cancer legislation introduced since the National Cancer Act in 1971, authored by Kennedy.
The 21st Century Cancer ALERT Act will provide critical funding for promising research in early detection, and supply grants for screening and referrals for treatment. These measures will also ensure patient access to prevention and early detection, which is supplemented by increased access to clinical trials and information.
The bill places an emphasis on strengthening cancer research and the urgent need for resources to both prevent and detect cancers at an early stage. The bill strives to give scientists the tools they need to fight cancer and to understand more thoroughly how the disease works. Through fostering new treatments, increased preventative measures and funding for research, the ALERT Act begins a new chapter in how Americans will live with and fight cancer.