“Globally, it is evident that glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive malignant cancer with a high mortality rate and no effective treatment options. Glioblastoma is classified as the stage-four progression of a glioma tumor, and its diagnosis results in a shortened life expectancy. Treatment options for GBM include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, surgical intervention, and conventional pharmacotherapy; however, at best, they extend the patient’s life by a maximum of 5 years. GBMs are considered incurable due to their high recurrence rate, despite various aggressive therapeutic approaches ..read more

“The potential medicinal properties of Cannabis continue to garner attention, especially in the brain tumor domain. This attention is centered on quality of life and symptom management; however, it is amplified by a significant lack of therapeutic choices for this specific patient population. While the literature on this matter is young, published and anecdotal evidence imply that cannabis could be useful in treating chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, stimulating appetite, reducing pain, and managing seizures. It may also decrease inflammation and cancer cell proliferation and survival ..read more

“Background: Accumulating evidence suggests overexpression of Eph receptors is associated with malignant human gliomas. Inhibiting interactions of Eph receptors with their ephrin ligands may improve clinical outcomes in glioma patients. The present study investigated the potential of cannabinoids to bind Eph receptors and block Eph/ephrin interactions. Methods: Twelve major cannabinoids were computationally docked with ligand binding domains from six glioma-associated Eph receptors through Auto Dock Vina to measure their potential binding affinities. The molecular structures and residue ..read more

“Phytocannabinoids represent a promising approach in glioblastoma therapy. Previous work has shown that a combined treatment of glioblastoma cells with submaximal effective concentrations of psychoactive Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) greatly increases cell death. In the present work, the glioblastoma cell lines U251MG and U138MG were used to investigate whether the combination of THC and CBD in a 1:1 ratio is associated with a disruption of cellular energy metabolism, and whether this is caused by affecting mitochondrial respiration. Here, the combined a ..read more

“The use of medical cannabis (MC) to treat cancer-related symptoms is rising. However, there is a lack of long-term trials to assess the benefits and safety of MC treatment in this population. In this work, we followed up prospectively and longitudinally on the effectiveness and safety of MC treatment. Oncology patients reported on multiple symptoms before and after MC treatment initiation at one-, three-, and 6-month follow-ups. Oncologists reported on the patients’ disease characteristics. Intention-to-treat models were used to assess changes in outcomes from baseline. MC treatment was init ..read more

“Cannabis sativa is an agriculturally and medicinally important plant with many pharmaceutical properties. Cancer is a deadly disease; it is estimated that it will cause over 80 thousand deaths in 2019 in Canada. Although numerous studies have demonstrated that cannabinoids have anti-tumorous properties in various cancers, the anti-malignant activities of cannabinol (CBN) on carcinogenesis and underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. In this study, we provide evidence that CBN inhibits proliferation of A172, HB8065 and HCC1806 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. CBN regulates expr ..read more

“Phytocannabinoids possess anticancer properties, as established in vitro and in vivo. However, they are characterized by high lipophilicity. To improve the properties of cannabidiol (CBD), such as solubility, stability, and bioavailability, CBD inclusion complexes with cyclodextrins (CDs) might be employed, offering targeted, faster, and prolonged CBD release. The aim of the present study is to investigate the in vitro effects of CBD and its inclusion complexes in randomly methylated β-CD (RM-β-CD) and 2-hyroxypropyl-β-CD (HP-β-CD). The enhanced solubility of CBD upon complexation with CDs wa ..read more

“Cancer is a complex family of diseases affecting millions of people worldwide. Gliomas are primary brain tumors that account for ~80% of all malignant brain tumors. Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common, invasive, and lethal subtype of glioma. Therapy resistance and intra-GBM tumoral heterogeneity are promoted by subpopulations of glioma stem cells (GSCs). Cannabis sativa produces hundreds of secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids, terpenes, and phytocannabinoids. Around 160 phytocannabinoids have been identified in C. sativa. Cannabis is commonly used to treat various ..read more

“Despite the long history of cannabinoid use for medicinal and ritual purposes, an endogenous system of cannabinoid-controlled receptors, as well as their ligands and the enzymes that synthesise and degrade them, was only discovered in the 1990s. Since then, the endocannabinoid system has attracted widespread scientific interest regarding new pharmacological targets in cancer treatment among other reasons. Meanwhile, extensive preclinical studies have shown that cannabinoids have an inhibitory effect on tumour cell proliferation, tumour invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, chemoresistance and e ..read more

“Substantial preclinical evidence demonstrates the antiproliferative, cytotoxic, and antimetastatic properties of plant-derived cannabinoids (phytocannabinoids) such as cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinol. The cumulative body of research into the intracellular mechanisms and phenotypic effects of these compounds supports a logical, judicious progression to large-scale phase II/III clinical trials in certain cancer types to truly assess the efficacy of phytocannabinoids as anticancer agents.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35260379 ..read more