More Proof Cannabinoids Kill Glioblastoma (brain cancer) Cells

[BakedAtAMileHigh]

(This is from a blog from Americans for Safe Access: the link is below.)

As a member of ASA’s Medical & Scientific Advisory Board, I’ve been actively engaged in pursuing further evidence of the medical efficacy of cannabis-based medicine. Some of this work occurred while I was working at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute (CPMCRI), and yesterday the findings of that work were published by the peer-reviewed journal Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. With this study, we have shown that cannabis compounds can work together to inhibit glioblastoma (GBM), one of the nastiest and most aggressive of all brain cancers. GBM is the type of brain cancer that caused the recent death of Senator Ted Kennedy....


One of the main findings of our research was how THC and CBD act synergistically to inhibit GBM brain cancer cell proliferation. The research team at CPMCRI, lead by Dr. Sean McAllister, discovered that a ratio of about 4:1 of THC to CBD resulted in a synergistic or enhanced killing effect. This THC and CBD combination was determined after assessing anti-cancer activity resulting from the interaction of THC with some of the more-than-70 cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant....

Interestingly, the individual doses of THC and CBD had little effect on the cancer cells or other proteins in the cells. However, when these two compounds were combined, the amount of cell death, or apoptosis, dramatically increased. And, as if this wasn’t enough, our research team discovered another potential breakthrough from the combined use of THC and CBD — a decrease in the protein known as ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase). The levels of ERK, often associated with cancer found in the body, were only affected by the combination of THC and CBD, suggesting that these compounds either converge on a shared pathway or together they activate a specific response in cancer cells.

Since these cannabinoids are relatively non-toxic and selectively kill cancer cells, large doses can be provided for in vivo studies.

http://safeaccessnow.org/blog/?p=522

[wtmusic]

1. Just don't smoke it.

"Despite the promising findings of the study the researchers point out that they are not a recommendation for people with brain cancer to smoke marijuana. They say it is highly unlikely that effective concentrations of either Δ9-THC or CBD could be reached by smoking cannabis."

http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/combining-marijuana-components-enhances-inhibitory-effects-on-brain-cancer-2/

"Inhalation of carcinogenic combustion products associated with smoking is generally regarded as the major health hazard in connection with the medical use of cannabis products."

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all?content=10.1300/J175v01n03_09

[Fly by night]

3. While using vaporizers is a good idea, smoking cannabis does not cause the problems we expected.

I am working to promote the Safe Access to Medical Cannabis bill here in Tennessee. Just today, I prepared a memo for the TN Medical Association that included summaries of these three studies:
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Feds' Top Pot Researcher Says Marijuana Does Not Cause Lung Cancer: A U of California researcher who has performed US-government sponsored studies of marijuana and lung function for over 30 years says that pot does not cause lung cancer. Dr. Donald Tashkin said that, when he began his work thirty years ago, he "opposed ... legalization because thought it would lead to increased use and that would lead to increased health effects." However, he now admits that his decades' worth of scientific research revealed an opposite conclusion. In 2006, Tashkin led the largest population case-control study ever to assess the use of marijuana and lung cancer risk. The study, which included more than 2,200 subjects (1,212 cases and 1,040 controls), reported that marijuana smoking was not positively associated with cancers of the lung or upper aerodigestive tract – even among individuals who reported smoking more than 22,000 joints during their lifetime. "What we found instead was no association and even a suggestion of some protective effect," Tashkin told the newspaper chain, noting that cannabinoids cause "cells die ... before they age enough to develop mutations that might lead to cancer." For more information on marijuana smoke and cancer risk, please see: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6891. A literature review of cannabinoids' anti-cancer properties is available at: http://www.norml.org//index.cfm?Group_ID=7008.
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Marijuana May Reduce Risk of Certain Cancers, Study Says
August 27, 2009

A new study finds that long-term marijuana users have a lower risk of certain head and neck cancers, Reuters reported Aug. 25.

Researchers from Brown University studied patients with head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (HNSCC) and a control group and found that subjects who had smoked marijuana for 10 to 20 years had a 62-percent reduced risk of getting HNSCC. Those who smoked marijuana 0.5 to 1.5 times per week had a 48-percent reduction in risk.

The study authors, led by Karl T. Kelsey, said that the findings may be linked to the known antitumor action of cannabinoids. However, they cautioned that larger studies are needed to confirm the findings and that the risks of marijuana use may outweigh any health benefits.

The study was published in the August 2009 issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research.
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I also wanted to include (below) the abstract from a paper published in 2002 that reviewed the results of comprehensive medical examinations of four of the seven federally approved medical cannabis patients who were still alive at that time. These patients had consumed 10 low-grade cannabis cigarettes (of dubious safety and efficacy provided by the NIDA facility at Ole Miss) every day for a period ranging from 11 to 27 years. Aside from some "mild changes in pulmonary function" in two of the patients (which would likely have been prevented entirely by using vaporizers to inhale cannabis), no other negative medical effects associated with this chronic, long-term cannabis use were found.

Chronic Cannabis Use in the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program: An Examination of Benefits and Adverse Effects of Legal Clinical Cannabis

Authors: Ethan Russo a; Mary Lynn Mathre b; Al Byrne b; Robert Velin a; Paul J. Bach a; Juan Sanchez-Ramos c; Kristin A. Kirlin d

Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics, Volume 2, Issue 1 February 2002 , pages 3 - 57

Abstract
The Missoula Chronic Clinical Cannabis Use Study was proposed to investigate the therapeutic bepnefits and adverse effects of prolonged use of “medical marijuana” in a cohort of seriously ill patients. Use of cannabis was approved through the Compassionate Inves-tigational New Drug (IND) program of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Cannabis is obtained from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and is utilized under the supervision of a study physician. The aim of this study is to examine the overall health status of 4 of the 7 surviving patients in the program. This project provides the first opportunity to scrutinize the long-term effects of cannabis on patients who have used a known dosage of a standardized, heat-sterilized quality-controlled supply of low-grade marijuana for 11 to 27 years.

Results demonstrate clinical effectiveness in these patients in treating glaucoma, chronic musculoskeletal pain, spasm and nausea, and spasticity of multiple sclerosis. All 4 patients are stable with respect to their chronic conditions, and are taking many fewer standard pharmaceuticals than previously.

Mild changes in pulmonary function were observed in 2 patients, while no functionally significant attributable sequelae were noted in any other physiological system examined in the study, which included: MRI scans of the brain, pulmonary function tests, chest X-ray, neuropsy-chological tests, hormone and immunological assays, electroencepha-lography, P300 testing, history, and neurological clinical examination.

These results would support the provision of clinical cannabis to a greater number of patients in need. We believe that cannabis can be a safe and effective medicine with various suggested improvements in the existing Compassionate IND program.

[Royal Sloan 09]

2. K & R, Thanks for the information! eom

Solution = Legalization, End the War against US citizens or (drugs)!