Category Archives: Skin Cancer

[Expression of cannabinoid receptor 2 in squamous cell carcinoma].

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“The expression of CB2 protein and mRNA levels were detected in normal human skin and squamous cell carcinoma… Both the normal skin and squamous cell carcinoma expressed CB2, which was localized mainly in the basal cell layer and prickle cell layer in human skin with low expressions in the subcutaneous tissue.

 

CONCLUSION:

Squamous cell carcinoma over-expresses CB2 at both the protein and mRNA levels. High expression of CB2 in squamous cell carcinoma suggests an important role of CB2 in the tumorigenesis and development of squamous cell carcinoma.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20335147

Dronabinol for supportive therapy in patients with malignant melanoma and liver metastases.

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“Loss of appetite and nausea can reduce the quality of life of patients with malignant melanoma and liver metastases. Often established antiemetic drugs fail to bring relief. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, Marinol), which is the active agent of Indian hemp, has been used successfully in this situation for other malignant tumors.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

We treated 7 patients with hematogenous metastatic melanoma and liver metastases suffering from extensive loss of appetite and nausea supportively with dronabinol (Marinol. All of these patients had previously received standard antiemetic therapy without adequate relief. Dronabinol is a synthetic Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol. The drug was administered in capsule form. We evaluated the palliative effects of dronabinol with a special patient evaluation form, which was filled out at the beginning of the therapy and again after 4 weeks.

RESULTS:

The majority of patients described a significant increase in appetite and decrease in nausea. These effects remained for some weeks, but then decreased as metastases progressed and the general condition worsened. All of the patients experienced slight to moderate dizziness, but it was not sufficiently troubling to cause interruption or termination of therapy.

CONCLUSION:

Loss of appetite and nausea due to liver metastases of malignant melanoma can be treated in individual cases supportively with Dronabinol.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16408219

Peripheral Cannabinoids Attenuate Carcinoma Induced Nociception in Mice

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“Cancer pain remains poorly understood and there are no effective therapies…

 We tested whether a local CBr2 agonist produces antinociception. Our findings suggest that a peripheral CBr2 agonist could provide relief for cancer patients. Cannabinoids also potentiate the analgesic effects of morphine and prevent tolerance.

These desirable effects of cannabinoids show promise for management of cancer pain and may lead to improved analgesic therapy.

These findings support the suggestion that cannabinoids are capable of producing antinociception in carcinoma-induced pain.”

Full text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2771220/

Cannabidiol bioavailability after nasal and transdermal application: effect of permeation enhancers.

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“The nonpsychoactive cannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD), has great potential for the treatment of chronic and ‘breakthrough’ pain that may occur in certain conditions like cancer. To fulfill this goal, suitable noninvasive drug delivery systems need to be developed for CBD. Chronic pain relief can be best achieved through the transdermal route, whereas ‘breakthrough’ pain can be best alleviated with intranasal (IN) delivery. Combining IN and transdermal delivery for CBD may serve to provide patient needs-driven treatment in the form of a nonaddictive nonopioid therapy.

CONCLUSION:

The results of this study indicated that CBD could be successfully delivered through the IN and transdermal routes.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20545522

Inhibition of basal and ultraviolet B-induced melanogenesis by cannabinoid CB(1) receptors: a keratinocyte-dependent effect.

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“Ultraviolet radiation is the major environmental insult to the skin and stimulates the synthesis of melanin in melanocytes, which then distribute it to the neighboring keratinocytes where it confers photo-protection. Skin color results from the paracrine interaction between these two cell types. Recent studies suggest that endocannabinoids are potential mediators in the skin. Here, we investigated whether cannabinoid drugs play a role in melanogenesis and if ultraviolet radiation modifies the cutaneous endocannabinoid system.

We provide evidence that human melanoma cells (SK-mel-1) express CB(1) receptors… 

Furthermore, ultraviolet-B radiation increased endocannabinoids levels only in keratinocytes, whereas CB(1) cannabinoid receptor expression was up-regulated only in melanoma cells.

Our results collectively suggest that ultraviolet radiation activates paracrine CB(1)-mediated endocannabinoid signaling to negatively regulate melanin synthesis.

The endocannabinoid system in the skin may be a possible target for future therapies in pigmentary disorders.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21298280

The association of N-palmitoylethanolamine with the FAAH inhibitor URB597 impairs melanoma growth through a supra-additive action.

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“The incidence of melanoma is considerably increasing worldwide. Frequent failing of classical treatments led to development of novel therapeutic strategies aiming at managing advanced forms of this skin cancer. Additionally, the implication of the endocannabinoid system in malignancy is actively investigated…

CONCLUSIONS:

This study suggests the interest of targeting the endocannabinoid system in the management of skin cancer and underlines the advantage of associating endocannabinoids with enzymatic hydrolysis inhibitors.

This may contribute to the improvement of long-term palliation or cure of melanoma.”

Full text: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3364151/

The antimitogenic effect of the cannabinoid receptor agonist WIN55212-2 on human melanoma cells is mediated by the membrane lipid raft.

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“Here are reported the antiproliferative effects of the cannabinoid agonist WIN upon human melanoma cells expressing mRNA and protein for both CB1 and CB2 receptors.

While WIN exerted antimitogenic effects, selective CB1 or CB2 agonists were unable to reproduce such effects and selective CB1 and CB2 antagonists did not inhibit WIN-induced cell death. Cells treated with WIN, preincubated with the lipid raft disruptor methylcyclodestrin, were rescued from death. WIN induced activation of caspases and phosphorylation of ERK that were attenuated in cultures treated with methylcyclodestrin.

 Membrane lipid raft complex-mediated antimitogenic effect of WIN in melanoma could represents a potential targets for a melanoma treatment.”

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21807457

Cannabinoids for Cancer Treatment: Progress and Promise

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Cancer Research: 68 (2)

“Cannabinoid refers to a group of chemicals naturally found in the marijuana plant Cannabis sativa L. and includes compounds that are either structurally or pharmacologically similar to Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol or those that bind to the cannabinoid receptors. Although anticancer effects of cannabinoids were shown as early as 1975 in Lewis lung carcinoma, renewed interest was generated little after the discovery of the cannabinoid system and cloning of the specific cannabinoid receptors.

Cannabinoids are a class of pharmacologic compounds that offer potential applications as antitumor drugs, based on the ability of some members of this class to limit inflammation, cell proliferation, and cell survival. In particular, emerging evidence suggests that agonists of cannabinoid receptors expressed by tumor cells may offer a novel strategy to treat cancer. Here, we review recent work that raises interest in the development and exploration of potent, nontoxic, and nonhabit forming cannabinoids for cancer therapy.”

Full Text: http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/68/2/339.long

Cannabinoids Halt Pancreatic Cancer, Breast Cancer Growth, Studies Say

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“Compounds in cannabis inhibit cancer cell growth in human breast cancer cell lines and in pancreatic tumor cell lines, according to a pair of preclinical trials published in the July issue of the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

In one trial, investigators at Complutense University in Spain and the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM) in France assessed the anti-cancer activity of cannabinoids in pancreatic cancer cell lines and in animals. Cannabinoid administration selectively increased apoptosis (programmed cell death) in pancreatic tumor cells while ignoring healthy cells, researchers found. In addition, “cannabinoid treatment inhibited the spreading of pancreatic tumor cells … and reduced the growth of tumor cells” in animals.

“These findings may contribute to … a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of pancreatic cancer,” authors concluded.

In the second trial, investigators at Spain’s Complutense University reported that THC administration “reduces human breast cancer cell proliferation [in vitro] by blocking the progression of the cell cycle and by inducing apoptosis.” Authors concluded that their findings “may set the bases for a cannabinoid therapy for the management of breast cancer.”

Previous preclinical data published in May in the Journal of Pharmacological and Experimental Therapeutics reported that non-psychoactive cannabinoids, particularly cannabidiol (CBD), dramatically halt the spread of breast cancer cells and recommended their use in cancer therapy.

Separate trials have also shown cannabinoids to reduce the size and halt the spread of glioma (brain tumor) cells in animals and humans in a dose dependent manner. Additional preclinical studies have demonstrated cannabinoids to inhibit cancer cell growth and selectively trigger malignant cell death in skin cancer cells, leukemic cells, lung cancer cells, and prostate carcinoma cells, among other cancerous cell lines.”

http://norml.org/news/2006/07/06/cannabinoids-halt-pancreatic-cancer-breast-cancer-growth-studies-say

Gemcitabine/cannabinoid combination triggers autophagy in pancreatic cancer cells through a ROS-mediated mechanism

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“Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is one of the most aggressive and devastating human malignancies with a death-to-incidence ratio of 0.99. Although it represents only 2–3% of all cancers, pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the fourth cause of death by tumors…

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in cannabinoids as therapeutic drugs for their antineoplastic, anticachectic, and analgesic potential. Growth inhibitory activities of cannabinoids have been demonstrated for various malignancies, including brain, breast, prostate, colorectal, skin and, recently, pancreatic cancer…

In the present study, we have demonstrated that the combination between the standard chemotherapy agent GEM and cannabinoids synergistically inhibited pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell growth by a ROS-dependent autophagic cell death.

These findings support a key role of the ROS-dependent activation of an autophagic program in the synergistic growth inhibition induced by GEM/cannabinoid combination in human pancreatic cancer cells.

GEM and cannabinoids strongly inhibited growth of human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells in vivo.”

Read more: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3122066/