Cannabis Compounds That Fight Ovarian Cancer?

Cannabis for ovarian cancer shows promise as researchers test cannabinoids in new studies

According to the American Cancer Society, over 19,000 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2023.

Another 13,000 women will die from this terrible disease. It is the eighth most common cancer in women worldwide. It’s difficult to diagnose because the main symptoms, abdominal pain and bloating, are far too common in women — which is why ovarian cancer is often diagnosed at a late stage.

Ovarian cancer, if diagnosed early enough, can still be treated with either surgery or chemotherapy; in later cases this usually requires both. Surgery is necessary to get rid of the tumor, and chemotherapy can help further kill tumors and cancer cells.

However, studies show that cannabis and hemp may be beneficial for ovarian cancer patients.

Studies show potential

Researchers at Southern Illinois University (SIU) are delving deeper into understanding how marijuana’s compounds may help treat ovarian cancer. dr Dale “Buck” Buchanan, a professor of physiology and researcher at SIU, is leading the study to determine how the disease can be prevented. “The vast majority of ovarian cancer research is focused on prolonging what we call ‘progression-free survival,'” he explains. “Therefore, it seems misguided to me that the focus of research is on this gradual extension of life,” says Dr. Buchanan, emphasizing that prevention is her primary goal.

Her research found that omega-3 acids, which are abundant in flaxseed, are beneficial. Omega-3 fatty acids are powerful anti-inflammatory and when introduced into the diet of animal models they were found to be effective in reducing the risk of ovarian cancer. “As a result, cancer severity has been reduced by 70% and incidence by 30%, and all we did was add flax to their diet,” he says. “But we don’t know anything about how it works, so that’s our job.”

“So in the endocannabinoid system, cannabinoids are produced in our bodies, and they bind to specific receptors, one and two,” explains Titas Roy, a graduate student helping with the research. “So two isn’t expressed as much in the ovary, but receptor one is abundant there, and it seems like the expression of these receptors increases in cancer.”

They are currently working to study how proteins produced in different variants in the ovaries and throughout the endocannabinoid system interact to better understand the link between ovarian cancer and cannabinoids.

Meanwhile, in an older study, researchers from Kentucky analyzed how locally grown hemp may help fight ovarian cancer. “Like marijuana, hemp contains therapeutically valuable components such as cannabidiol, cannabinol and tetrahydrocannabinol. However, unlike marijuana, hemp’s therapeutic abilities have not been studied in detail,” researchers Chase Turner and Sara Biela explained during the 2018 Experimental Biology Meeting.

In the first study, they exposed ovarian cancer cells to KY hemp. They found that it was effective in reducing the cells’ ability to migrate. In another study, they looked at how, if any, the hemp might play a role in preventing ovarian cancer. They were specifically interested in a chemical called interleukin IL-1 beta, which speeds up the progression of cancer.

“We hypothesized that hemp-induced modulation of interleukin-1 beta production might play a role in hemp-induced anticancer effects,” they said.

The hemp was found to work in reducing levels of interleukin IL-1 beta, which they hope can form the basis for the development of future therapies. “Our results from this research, as well as previous research, show that KY-hemp slows ovarian cancer comparable or even better than the current ovarian cancer drug cisplatin,” the researchers write.

A new study from Israel, published in the medical journal Cancers, shows that cannabis extracts containing CBC and CBD were both effective in treating head and neck cancer cells in laboratory experiments. For the study, Israeli researchers analyzed the cancer-killing activity of 24 cannabinoids.

When CBD and CBD were administered in a 2:1 ratio, they reported that it “maximized the cytotoxicity of HNSCC [head and neck squamous cell carcinoma] cells,” they wrote. The study authors also report an entourage effect observed when CBD was co-administered with THC, following a 2:1 ratio, although they noted that the CBD to CBD ratio was safer.

“Our research found that CBD enhances the cytotoxic effects of CBD, providing additional support for the entourage effect phenomenon in phytocannabinoids,” the researchers wrote. “Considering the adverse psychotomimetic effects of THC, there is a clear benefit to favoring the CBD-CBC combination over CBD-THC for novel treatments of HNSCC,” they wrote.

“This research suggests using whole cannabis extracts rich in decarboxylated CBD to induce cancer cell death,” the researchers concluded.

Diploma

There are numerous studies and a growing body of evidence pointing to cannabis’ cancer-killing abilities. It can also be taken alongside chemotherapy to make the treatment more effective and tolerable given its notorious side effects.

Considering how many women die from ovarian cancer alone, not to mention the rest of the population affected by the various types of cancer, we hope scientists can learn more about how cannabis can be most effectively and safely administered for both cancer treatment as well as for prevention.

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