SAN FRANSICO: Research team from the California Pacific Medical Center found that a compound, called cannabidiol, present in cannabis could halt the spread of many forms of aggressive cancer.
It has the ability to 'switch off' the gene responsible for metastasis in an aggressive form of breast cancer without producing the psychoactive properties of the cannabis plant.
Cannabis is a Class B drug that is illegal to have, give away or sell. It is associated with an increase in developing psychotic illnesses later in life including schizophrenia. Heavy-use can also affect learning ability and concentration levels.
Its potential was spotted five years ago and last year they published a study that found a similar effect in mice. Now they say they are on the verge of publishing further animal study results that expand these results further.
Study co-leader Dr Sean McAllister, said “The preclinical trial data is very strong, and there's no toxicity. There's really a lot or research to move ahead with and to get people excited.”
While he, along with colleague Dr Pierre Desprez acknowledges that they are some way off from turning their finding into a pill, they are already developing human trial models. They hope to eventually test the drug in combination with current chemotherapies.
Professor Desprez had previously found that a protein called ID-1 seemed to play a role in causing breast cancer to spread. Meanwhile Dr McAllister had discovered the cannabidiol had anti-cancer potential.
The pair teamed up to see if they could treat a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer called 'triple negative.' Cells from this cancer have high levels of ID-1.When they exposed cells from this cancer to cannabidiol they were shocked to find the cells not only stopped acting 'crazy' but also returned to a healthy normal state.
They discovered that the compound had turned off the over expression of ID-1, stopping them from travelling to distant tissues.
Other potentially treatable cancers are forms of leukemia, lung, ovarian and brain cancers, which also have high levels of ID-1.
It has the ability to 'switch off' the gene responsible for metastasis in an aggressive form of breast cancer without producing the psychoactive properties of the cannabis plant.
Cannabis is a Class B drug that is illegal to have, give away or sell. It is associated with an increase in developing psychotic illnesses later in life including schizophrenia. Heavy-use can also affect learning ability and concentration levels.
Its potential was spotted five years ago and last year they published a study that found a similar effect in mice. Now they say they are on the verge of publishing further animal study results that expand these results further.
Study co-leader Dr Sean McAllister, said “The preclinical trial data is very strong, and there's no toxicity. There's really a lot or research to move ahead with and to get people excited.”
While he, along with colleague Dr Pierre Desprez acknowledges that they are some way off from turning their finding into a pill, they are already developing human trial models. They hope to eventually test the drug in combination with current chemotherapies.
Professor Desprez had previously found that a protein called ID-1 seemed to play a role in causing breast cancer to spread. Meanwhile Dr McAllister had discovered the cannabidiol had anti-cancer potential.
The pair teamed up to see if they could treat a particularly aggressive form of breast cancer called 'triple negative.' Cells from this cancer have high levels of ID-1.When they exposed cells from this cancer to cannabidiol they were shocked to find the cells not only stopped acting 'crazy' but also returned to a healthy normal state.
They discovered that the compound had turned off the over expression of ID-1, stopping them from travelling to distant tissues.
Other potentially treatable cancers are forms of leukemia, lung, ovarian and brain cancers, which also have high levels of ID-1.
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