Combination Of CBD And THC Cannabinoids Inhibit Glioma Brain Cancer Growth
This compelling study[1] published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics adds to the growing evidence that marijuana possesses medical properties and should be legally available for medicinal purposes.
Katherine A. Scott, Angus G. Dalgleish, and Wai M. Liu, who are affiliated with the Department of Oncology, Division of Clinical Sciences, St George’s, University of London, studied the effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) both by themselves and in combination with radiation therapy on glioma cells in-vitro and on laboratory mice.
Gliomas are a type of brain and spine cancer and are one of the most aggressive forms of cancer in humans. Gliomas takes its name from the glial cells of the brain and spine they originate in. Glial cells are the tissue that surrounds and supports neurons in the brain and spine, but the most glioma sites are in the brain.
The researchers found a good dose combination of 7mM (millimolar – a measure of amount-of-substance concentration) each of THC and CBD to minimize the psychoactive effects of the THC and still maintain their anti-cancer effectiveness. The researchers found in order to achieve a 50% kill rate of the glioma cancer cells they would have had to use 19mM of THC or 14mM of CBD if they were used separately, so using THC and CBD together was more effective.
The Results:
The dose of radiation the researchers used had no dramatic effect on reducing tumor growth. The combination of THC and CBD without radiation was marginally more effective than radiation alone.
The combination of THC, CBD, and radiation basically stopped tumor growth in the mice for the rest of the study. Tumor sizes were significantly smaller in these the mice that received this combination of therapy in comparison to the other mice that did not.
The researchers noted that the combination of THC and CBD made the glioma cells more susceptible to the radiation because of an increase in markers of autophagy and apoptosis.
Study
Glioma
Cannabis and Glioma
