Cannabis enhances chemotherapy to destroy cancer cells
1st July 2008
A team of researchers; led by Dr Wai Man Liu at St George’s, University of London in collaboration with colleagues at Barts and The London NHS Trust have followed up their findings of 2005, which showed that the main active ingredient in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, has the potential to be used effectively against some forms of cancer. The results of the research are published online this week in Leukemia and Lymphoma. They show that combining cannabis-derived compounds with current anti-leukaemia drugs may make conventional treatments more effective. Dr Liu has previously revealed that the MAPK pathway is inhibited by THC. Building on this in his latest research, he and colleagues have found that reduced MAPK function can lead to cancer cells becoming more sensitive to other anti-cancer drugs. This strongly suggests that combination therapies can offer to patients a more effective treatment plan, with the potential of fewer side-effects. Previous research has shown that cannabis-based medicines have medicinal benefits for patients with cancer, primarily as a painkiller; appetite stimulant and in reducing nausea.
THC and its related compounds have been shown to attack cancer cells, by interfering with important growth-processing pathways. The recent study reaffirms the potential of cannabis-like substances, and improves our understanding of this complex compound by demonstrating its additional role as an “enhancer” of some cancer treatments. However the widely publicised reports of the psychoactive effects of THC have previously hindered its wider use as a therapeutic drug.
Dr Liu said: “These new data improves our understanding of a class of drugs that possesses anti-cancer features. It is important to stress that these substances have been specifically synthesized to eliminate the psychoactive features, and are far removed from the cannabis that is smoked. Ultimately, these studies will provide us with insights into developing new drugs that can be used to effectively treat cancers.”
Dr Tom Powles, Senior Lecturer in Medical Oncology at Barts and The London said: "We are encouraged by the results of this research, which has been the result of joint-working between clinicians based at St George's and Barts and The London NHS Trust. Early results indicate that cannabis-derived drugs could potentially add another dimension to classic chemotherapy, in that they appear to render cancerous cells more readily treatable. This suggests that this class of drugs could be a new and effective anti-cancer treatment, when combined with chemotherapy."
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