“It is well-established that cannabinoids exert palliative effects on some cancer-associated symptoms. In addition evidences obtained during the last fifteen years support that these compounds can reduce tumour growth in animal models of cancer.
Cannabinoids have been shown to activate an ER-stress related pathway that leads to the stimulation of autophagy-mediated cancer cell death.
In addition, cannabinoids inhibit tumour angiogenesis and decrease cancer cell migration.
The mechanisms of resistance to cannabinoid anticancer action as well as the possible strategies to develop cannabinoid-based combinational therapies to fight cancer have also started to be explored.
In this review we will summarize these observations (that have already helped to set the bases for the development of the first clinical studies to investigate the potential clinical benefit of using cannabinoids in anticancer therapies) and will discuss the possible future avenues of research in this area.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26071989
“… cannabinoids have been shown to alleviate nausea and vomit induced by chemotherapy and several cannabinoid-based medicines [Marinol (THC) and Cesamet (nabilone, a synthetic analogue of THC)] are approved for this purpose. Cannabinoids also inhibit pain, and Sativex (a standardized cannabis extract) has been approved in Canada for the treatment of cancer-associated pain. Other potential palliative effects of cannabinoids in oncology include appetite stimulation and attenuation of wasting. In addition to these palliative actions of cannabinoids in cancer patients, THC and other cannabinoids exhibit antitumour effects in animal models of cancer… a large body of scientific evidences strongly support THC and other cannabinoid agonists exert anticancer actions in preclinical models of cancer… In conclusion there exist solid scientific evidences supporting that cannabinoids exhibit a remarkable anticancer activity in preclinical models of cancer. Since these agents also show an acceptable safety profile, clinical studies aimed at testing them as single agents or in combinational therapies are urgently needed.”
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278584615001190
