New Research Finds Cannabinoids May Help Drastically Reduce Forms Of Brain Cancer

George’s University of London witnessed what they called “dramatic reductions” in severe glioma masses, which are a deadly form of brain cancer. (source) The study states: “High-grade glioma is one of the most aggressive cancers in adult humans and long-term survival rates are very low as standard treatments for glioma remain largely unsuccessful. Cannabinoids have been shown to specifically inhibit glioma growth as well as neutralize oncogenic processes such as angiogenesis. In vitro results were recapitulated in an orthotopic murine model for glioma, which showed dramatic reductions in tumor volumes when both cannabinoids were used with irradiation. Taken together, our data highlight the possibility that these cannabinoids can prime glioma cells to respond better to ionizing radiation, and suggest a potential clinical benefit for glioma patients by using these two treatment modalities.” Dr. Wai Liu, one of the study’s lead authors, said that: “We’ve also shown that cannabinoids could play a role in treating one of the most aggressive cancers in adults....

The results are promising.

There may be other applications, but for now, it could provide a way of breaking through glioma and saving more lives.” (source) The study goes on to show that patients infected with glioma who are treated with radiation might benefit from incorporating marijuana into their healing regimen. Of the compounds found in marijuana, they used THC, the psychoactive compound that produces the “high,” as well as CBD, which doesn’t produce any psychoactive side-effects. Researchers discovered that low doses of THC and CBD combined made tumors more receptive to radiation treatment. For decades people have known about the anti-tumoral effects of cannabis.

There are literally hundreds of studies that have shown that the active constituents within cannabis, such as THC and CBD, kill cancer cells – or at least severely reduce them. If you do your research, this isn’t hard to see. So ask yourself, why have there been no clinical trials to put the wheels into motion? We cannot officially say that “cannabis kills cancer” because the efficacy of that claim has not been backed by clinical trials in human patients, despite the fact that, again, it has already been scientifically proven to completely destroy cancer cells. It doesn’t hurt to say it one more time: hundreds of studies have clearly shown how cannabis kills cancer cells, in multiple cancers. I am not going to provide these studies as they are abundant, and I prefer to encourage others to do their own research instead of doing it for them. A quick Google search for scholarly articles regarding the healing power of cannabis, specifically related to cancer, will yield a vast array of research. Here is a video of a molecular biologist explaining how THC completely kills cancer cells. And here are a couple regarding brain cancer. Again, ask yourself, with all of this potential for treating cancer with cannabis, why are we not seeing human clinical trials? 1. A study published in the British Journal of Cancer, conducted by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Complutense University in Madrid, determined that Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other cannabinoids inhibit tumour growth.

They were responsible for the first clinical study aimed at assessing cannabinoid antitumoral action. Cannabinoid delivery was safe and was achieved with zero psychoactive effects. THC was found to decrease tumour cells in two out of the nine patients. 2. A study published in The Journal of Neuroscience examined the biochemical events in both acute neuronal damage and in slowly progressive, neurodegenerative diseases.

They conducted a magnetic resonance imaging study that looked at THC (the main active compound in marijuana) and found that it reduced neuronal injury in neonatal rats.

The results of this study provide evidence that the cannabinoid system can serve to protect the brain against neurodegeneration. 3. A study published in The Journal of Pharmacology And Experimental Therapeutics already acknowledged the fact that cannabinoids have been shown to possess antitumor properties. This study examined the effect of cannabidiol (CBD, non-psychoactive cannabinoid compound) on human glioma cell lines.

The addition of cannabidiol led to a dramatic drop in the viability of glioma cells. Glioma is the word used to describe brain tumour. The study concluded that cannabidiol was able to produce a significant antitumor activity. 4. A study published in the journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics outlines how brain tumours are highly resistant to current anticancer treatments, which makes it crucial to find new therapeutic strategies aimed at improving the poor prognosis of patients suffering from this disease. This study also demonstrated the reversal of tumour activity in Glioblastoma multiforme. When a new drug is introduced that shows the same potential for killing cancer like cannabis does, clinical trials seem to be organized right away, but when it comes to marijuana, decades have passed without their implementation. This hasn’t stopped individuals from taking matters into their own hands, as many have used marijuana in conjunction with their chemotherapy, or completely on its own to help heal their cancer. One out of many great examples is Mykalya Comstock. Mykala had T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a very rare and aggressive form of childhood leukaemia. In July of 2012, doctors discovered a basketball-sized mass of lymphoblasts in her chest. Her mass was so large that she was not able to be sedated for risk of death from the pressure on her esophagus and heart. You can read more about that story here. When it comes to the healing properties of cannabis, smoking is not the answer. As Dr. Wai Liu states: “Smoking cannabis introduces a number of potential problems,” Liu said. “First, the complex makeup of cannabis that contains about 80 bioactive substances means that the desired anticancer effect may be lost because these compounds may interfere with each other. Second, we see that delivering the drug either by injection or by a tablet would ensure the most effective doses are given. Smoking would be variable, and indeed the heat of the burning may actually destroy the useful nature of the compounds.” (source)(source) Apparently, the best way to ingest marijuana for medicinal purposes is to eat it, or juice it. We published an article two years ago that goes into more details as to why eating marijuana is different from smoking it. You can read that here. Source: All sources are highlighted and linked throughout the article. .

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References:

• http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2014/11/12/1535-7163.MCT-14-0402.abstract
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/11/18/how-pot-helped-shrink-one-of-the-most-aggressive-brain-cancers/
• http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v95/n2/abs/6603236a.html
• http://www.jneurosci.org/content/21/17/6475.abstract
• http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/308/3/838.abstract
• http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/10/1/90.abstract
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/25/marijuana-cancer_n_4158865.html