Talk about a new joint effort in cancer care.
A promising treatment approach for one of the most dangerous cancers has been identified by a team of researchers in Thailand exploring the effects of key cannabis compounds.
The research team looked at the two most well-known compounds in weed plants — THC and CBD — and discovered that both produced significant anti-cancer activity when tested on ovarian cancer cells.
Each slowed cell growth, formed fewer and smaller clusters and prevented them from spreading.
The results were most notable when CBD and THC were used as a combined treatment, proving highly effective at killing a large number of cancerous cells.
While more research is needed, a medication derived from marijuana could be developed to treat ovarian cancer, the 5th deadliest female cancer in the US, affecting more than 20,000 women each year.
“Ovarian cancer remains one of the deadliest gynecological malignancies, characterized by late diagnosis, high recurrence rates and limited effective treatment options,” said lead author Dr. Siyao Tong of Khon Kaen University in Thailand.
“Our goal is to find alternative drugs that can improve efficacy and potentially reduce toxicity, ultimately bringing new hope to patients facing this challenging disease.”
The findings were published Monday in Frontiers in Pharmacology.
Current treatments for ovarian cancer, if detected early enough, include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and targeted drug therapy.
Unfortunately, these often come with severe side effects and only deliver short-term results, making the cancer more likely to return.
Both THC (the main psychoactive compound in marijuana) and CBD (the non-psychoactive one) have shown anti-cancer activity in other diseases.
And since they didn’t affect healthy cells, these compounds could be easier for patients to handle.
But there are a number of roadblocks before a cancer treatment made of weed hits the market.
First, the study only looked at in vitro results, meaning the research wasn’t conducted on a living organism. More research is needed on animals or humans to fully understand the safety and effectiveness of potential therapy.
Second, there are regulatory and legal issues around cannabinoid therapy that could affect future research.
More Americans are turning to marijuana to manage anxiety, sleep difficulties, severe morning sickness and a wide range of other health concerns, including cancer.
It’s estimated that anywhere from 20% to 40% of cancer patients use medical marijuana to manage side effects like sleeplessness, nausea, pain and stress.
And while cannabis use for medical issues continues to grow — along with the increasing number of states that have legalized weed sales — research is split on whether these products hurt or help cancer-related symptoms and treatment-related side effects.
But the authors of this new study have high hopes for their research.
“Although our study is still preliminary, it lays an important foundation for future research into the potential applications of CBD and THC in ovarian cancer treatment,” said Tong. “If future studies confirm these effects, CBD-THC combination therapy may ultimately contribute to the development of new treatment strategies.”
