Category Archives: Cancer

Cannabinoids and Cancer

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cancers-logo“Cannabinoids, active components of the plant Cannabis sativa, had been used for centuries in ancient medicine as therapeutic remedies for a variety of conditions, before becoming stigmatized due to their psychoactive effects.

In the second half of the 19th century, phyto-cannabinoids have been re-evaluated after the discovery of the chemical structure and isolation of different substances, and the subsequent development of cannabinoid-based drugs that have been FDA approved mainly to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea, insomnia and appetite, epilepsy, spasticity, and pain management.

Then, the elucidation of the endocannabinoid system, from the initial type 1 and type 2 (CB1 and CB2) cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands (especially N-arachidonoylethanolamine, or anandamide, and 2-arachidonoylglycerol) to the emerging complexity of a wider system made up of additional putative receptors, ligands and enzymes, altogether termed endocannabinoidome, has further boosted research into the therapeutic potential of phyto-, endo- and even syntho-(synthetic) cannabinoids, cancer treatment included.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34503268/

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/17/4458/htm

Cannabinoids and Endocannabinoid System Changes in Intestinal Inflammation and Colorectal Cancer

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cancers-logo“Despite the multiple preventive measures and treatment options, colorectal cancer holds a significant place in the world’s disease and mortality rates. The development of novel therapy is in critical need, and based on recent experimental data, cannabinoids could become excellent candidates. This review covered known experimental studies regarding the effects of cannabinoids on intestinal inflammation and colorectal cancer. In our opinion, because colorectal cancer is a heterogeneous disease with different genomic landscapes, the choice of cannabinoids for tumor prevention and treatment depends on the type of the disease, its etiology, driver mutations, and the expression levels of cannabinoid receptors. In this review, we describe the molecular changes of the endocannabinoid system in the pathologies of the large intestine, focusing on inflammation and cancer.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34503163/

“In recent years, multiple preclinical studies have shown that changes in endocannabinoid system signaling may have various effects on intestinal inflammation and colorectal cancer. However, not all tumors can respond to cannabinoid therapy in the same manner. Given that colorectal cancer is a heterogeneous disease with different genomic landscapes, experiments with cannabinoids should involve different molecular subtypes, emerging mutations, and various stages of the disease. We hope that this review can help researchers form a comprehensive understanding of cannabinoid interactions in colorectal cancer and intestinal bowel diseases. We believe that selecting a particular experimental model based on the disease’s genetic landscape is a crucial step in the drug discovery, which eventually may tremendously benefit patient’s treatment outcomes and bring us one step closer to individualized medicine.”

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/17/4353

The antitumor activity of cannabidiol on lung cancer cell lines A549 and H1299: the role of apoptosis

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Publication Cover“In the recent years, the application of new antitumor drugs has focused on the replacement of conventional chemotherapeutics with compounds derived from natural products.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of the 113 cannabinoids derived from the plant Cannabis sativa and is characterized with complex and not entirely understood biological function. Unlike the other most abundant cannabinoid in Cannabis sativa – tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol has low affinity to the endocannabinoid receptors and the manifestation of its activity does not appear to rely on the endocannabinoid system.

Cannabidiol is used in the treatment of many diseases including some types of cancer.

The aim of our study was to evaluate the cytotoxic activity of cannabidiol and its effect on the process of programmed cell death. This process is directly involved in the antitumor effect of many drugs.

We found that CBD treatment led to a dose-dependant apoptosis increase in p53 positive A549 cells.

Several studies have demonstrated that cannabinoids also have antineoplastic effect and are usually accompanied with no negative side effects such as the ones produced by the conventional chemotherapy treatment.”

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13102818.2021.1915870

The Endocannabinoid System: A Potential Target for the Treatment of Various Diseases

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ijms-logo“The Endocannabinoid System (ECS) is primarily responsible for maintaining homeostasis, a balance in internal environment (temperature, mood, and immune system) and energy input and output in living, biological systems.

In addition to regulating physiological processes, the ECS directly influences anxiety, feeding behaviour/appetite, emotional behaviour, depression, nervous functions, neurogenesis, neuroprotection, reward, cognition, learning, memory, pain sensation, fertility, pregnancy, and pre-and post-natal development.

The ECS is also involved in several pathophysiological diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. In recent years, genetic and pharmacological manipulation of the ECS has gained significant interest in medicine, research, and drug discovery and development.

The distribution of the components of the ECS system throughout the body, and the physiological/pathophysiological role of the ECS-signalling pathways in many diseases, all offer promising opportunities for the development of novel cannabinergic, cannabimimetic, and cannabinoid-based therapeutic drugs that genetically or pharmacologically modulate the ECS via inhibition of metabolic pathways and/or agonism or antagonism of the receptors of the ECS. This modulation results in the differential expression/activity of the components of the ECS that may be beneficial in the treatment of a number of diseases.

This manuscript in-depth review will investigate the potential of the ECS in the treatment of various diseases, and to put forth the suggestion that many of these secondary metabolites of Cannabis sativa L. (hereafter referred to as “C. sativa L.” or “medical cannabis”), may also have potential as lead compounds in the development of cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals for a variety of diseases.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34502379/

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/17/9472

 

“Cannabis sativa L. as a Natural Drug Meeting the Criteria of a Multitarget Approach to Treatment”

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7830475/

Cannabidiol Induces Apoptosis and Perturbs Mitochondrial Function in Human and Canine Glioma Cells

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Frontiers in Pharmacology (@FrontPharmacol) | Twitter“Cannabidiol (CBD), the major non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis, is frequently used both as a nutraceutical and therapeutic.

Despite anecdotal evidence as an anticancer agent, little is known about the effect CBD has on cancer cells. Given the intractability and poor prognoses of brain cancers in human and veterinary medicine, we sought to characterize the in vitro cytotoxicity of CBD on human and canine gliomas.

Glioma cells treated with CBD showed a range of cytotoxicity from 4.9 to 8.2 μg/ml; canine cells appeared to be more sensitive than human.

These results demonstrate the cytotoxic nature of CBD in human and canine glioma cells and suggest a mechanism of action involving dysregulation of calcium homeostasis and mitochondrial activity.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34456736/

“In this present study, we demonstrate that highly purified CBD isolate reduced proliferation and induced caspase-mediated cell death, suggestive of apoptosis, in both canine glioma cell lines SDT3G and J3TBG as well as the human glioma cell lines U87MG and U373MG Uppsala. The growing body of knowledge of the pharmacology, anticancer effects, and other therapeutically relevant properties of cannabidiol reveal the exciting potential of CBD as a potential clinical therapeutic.”

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2021.725136/full

The Pathophysiology and the Therapeutic Potential of Cannabinoids in Prostate Cancer

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cancers-logo“Prostate cancer is the second most frequently occurring cancer diagnosed among males. Recent preclinical evidence implicates cannabinoids as powerful regulators of cell growth and differentiation. In this review, we focused on studies that demonstrated anticancer effects of cannabinoids and their possible mechanisms of action in prostate cancer. Besides the palliative effects of cannabinoids, research from the past two decades has demonstrated their promising potential as antitumor agents in a wide variety of cancers. This analysis may provide pharmacological insights into the selection of specific cannabinoids for the development of antitumor drugs for the treatment of prostate cancer.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34439262/

“Prostate cancer, after lung cancer, is the leading cause of death among men. Although the pathophysiological mechanisms and the etiological factors of prostate cancer development are still poorly understood, there are several factors associated with the risk of developing the disease such as age, family history, lifestyle-related factors (e.g., smoking, diet), and testosterone levels. Cannabinoids are an emerging class of pharmacological molecules that may exert their therapeutic effect against different cancers, including those from the prostate. Several studies have shown that various agonists are able to target cannabinoid receptors exhibited on prostate cancer cells.”

https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/16/4107

α-Pinene: A never-ending story

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Phytochemistry“α-Pinene represents a member of the monoterpene class and is highly distributed in higher plants like conifers, Juniper ssp. and Cannabis ssp.

α-Pinene has been used to treat respiratory tract infections for centuries. Furthermore, it plays a crucial role in the fragrance and flavor industry. In vitro assays have shown an enantioselective profile of (+)- and (-)-α-pinene for antibacterial and insecticidal activity, respectively.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34365295/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031942221002065?via%3Dihub

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“α-Pinene Enhances the Anticancer Activity of Natural Killer Cells via ERK/AKT Pathway. Our findings demonstrate that α-pinene activates NK cells and increases NK cell cytotoxicity, suggesting it is a potential compound for cancer immunotherapy.” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33440866/

“α-Pinene inhibits tumor invasion through downregulation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB-regulated matrix metalloproteinase-9 gene expression in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells. These results suggest that α-pinene has a significant effect on the inhibition of tumor invasion and may potentially be developed into an anti-metastatic drug.”   https://applbiolchem.springeropen.com/articles/10.1007/s13765-016-0175-6

Association Between Smoking Cannabis and Quitting Cigarettes in a Large American Cancer Society Cohort

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Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention“Background: Cannabis use is increasing, including among smokers, an at-risk population for cancer. Research is equivocal on whether using cannabis inhibits quitting cigarettes. The current longitudinal study investigated associations between smoking cannabis and subsequently quitting cigarettes.

Results: Adjusted cigarette quitting rates at follow-up did not differ significantly by baseline cannabis smoking status [never 36.2%, 95% confidence interval (CI), 34.5%-37.8%; former 34.1%, CI, 31.4%-37.0%; recent 33.6%, CI, 30.1%-37.3%], nor by frequency of cannabis smoking (low 31.4%, CI, 25.6%-37.3%; moderate 36.7%, CI, 30.7%-42.3%; high 34.4%, CI, 28.3%-40.2%) among recent baseline cannabis smokers. In cross-sectional analyses conducted at follow-up the proportion of cigarette smokers intending to quit smoking cigarettes in the next 30 days did not differ by cannabis smoking status (p=0.83).

Conclusions: Results do not support the hypothesis that cannabis smoking inhibits quitting cigarette smoking among adults.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34348959/

“Results do not support the hypothesis that cannabis smoking inhibits quitting cigarette smoking among adults.” https://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2021/08/04/1055-9965.EPI-20-1810

A Novel Mechanism of Cannabidiol in Suppressing Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Inducing GSDME Dependent Pyroptosis

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Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology - Institut de Myologie“Cannabidiol (CBD), a phytochemical derived from Cannabis sativa L., has been demonstrated to exhibit promising anti-tumor properties in multiple cancer types. However, the effects of CBD on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells remain unknown. We have shown that CBD effectively suppresses HCC cell growth in vivo and in vitro, and induced HCC cell pyroptosis in a caspase-3/GSDME-dependent manner. We further demonstrated that accumulation of integrative stress response (ISR) and mitochondrial stress may contribute to the initiation of pyroptotic signaling by CBD. Simultaneously, CBD can repress aerobic glycolysis through modulation of the ATF4-IGFBP1-Akt axis, due to the depletion of ATP and crucial intermediate metabolites. Collectively, these observations indicate that CBD could be considered as a potential compound for HCC therapy.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34350183/

“Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an extremely malignant cancer, accounting for almost 95% of primary liver cancer cases. Cannabidiol (CBD), a phytochemical derived from Cannabis sativa L., has been shown to have anti-tumor activity and to be a potential compound for tumor therapy. Previous studies have demonstrated that CBD treatment could effectively induce cell apoptosis in tumor cells. In this study, we have shown that CBD can effectively suppress HCC cell growth both in vitro and in vivo, which was similar to the anti-tumor activity of CBD observed in other cancer types. In summary, a mechanistic model of CBD anti-tumor activity in HCC cell pyroptosis and growth was demonstrated. All the observations described herein reveal a novel mechanism of the anti-tumor activity of CBD in HCC cells, suggesting that CBD could be considered as a promising compound for HCC therapy.”

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2021.697832/full

Combination therapy with cannabidiol and chemotherapeutics in canine urothelial carcinoma cells

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“Background: Canine urothelial carcinoma is the most common form of canine bladder cancer. Treatment with chemotherapy has variable response rates leading to most dogs succumbing to their disease within a year. Cannabidiol is an emerging treatment within the field of oncology. In reported in vivo studies, cannabidiol has induced apoptosis, reduced cell migration, and acted as a chemotherapy sensitizer in various human tumor types. The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of cannabidiol on canine urothelial carcinoma cell viability and apoptosis as both a single agent and in combination with chemotherapy in vitro.

Results: Cannabidiol reduced cell viability and induced apoptosis in canine urothelial cells as determined by crystal violet viability assay and annexin V/propidium iodide flow cytometry. Furthermore, combinations of cannabidiol with mitoxantrone and vinblastine chemotherapy yielded significantly reduced cell viability and increased apoptosis compared to single agent treatment alone. The drug interactions were deemed synergistic based on combination index calculations. Conversely, the combination of cannabidiol and carboplatin did not result in decreased cell viability and increased apoptosis compared to single agent treatment. Combination index calculations suggested an antagonistic interaction between these drugs. Finally, the combination of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug piroxicam with cannabidiol did not significantly affect cell viability, although, some cell lines demonstrated decreased cell viability when mitoxantrone was combined with piroxicam.

Conclusions: Cannabidiol showed promising results as a single agent or in combination with mitoxantrone and vinblastine for treatment of canine urothelial carcinoma cells. Further studies are justified to investigate whether these results are translatable in vivo.”

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34352013/

“Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid derived from the Cannabis sativa plant with well-documented analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anxiolytic effects. This study determined that CBD treatment reduced viability and induced cell death in canine urothelial carcinoma cells in vitro. Taken together, these results suggest that CBD may be a potential treatment for use in combination with chemotherapeutic agents to improve canine UC carcinoma response rates and survival.”

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0255591