Madrid, Spain: Compounds in marijuana inhibit malignant brain tumor growth in animals and humans, according to clinical findings published this week in the journal Cancer Research.
Researchers led by Manuel Guzman of Madrid’s Complutense University determined that cannabinoids inhibited the growth of glioma (brain) tumors in mice and in two human subjects by restricting the tumors’ blood supply. The study is the first to investigate the effects of cannabinoids on human Gliobastoma multiforme tumor biopsies.
Glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive form of glioma, strikes some 7,000 Americans annually, and generally results in death within one to two years following diagnosis.
Italian researchers had previously shown cannabinoids, including the non psychoactive compound cannabidiol (CBD), to inhibit the growth of glioma cells both in vitro (e.g., a petri dish) and in animals in a dose dependent manner.
In addition, THC has been clinically demonstrated to selectively induced programmed cell death in brain tumor cells without negatively impacting the surrounding healthy cells.
In 2000, Guzman and colleagues reported in Nature Medicine that injections of synthetic THC eradicated malignant gliomas in one-third of treated rats and prolonged life in another third by six weeks.
“The present findings provide a novel pharmacological target for cannabinoid based therapies,” Guzman said in regards to the most recent clinical trial.
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