Active component of marijuana may fight brain cancer

Washington, April 2 (ANI): Cannabinoids such as the main active component of marijuana (THC) have anticancer effects on human brain cancer cells, a new study has found.

In the study, Guillermo Velasco and colleagues at Complutense University, Spain, found that THC induced the death of various human brain cancer cell lines and primary cultured human brain cancer cells by a process known as autophagy.

Consistent with the in vitro data, administration of THC to mice with human tumours decreased tumour growth and induced the tumour cells to undergo autophagy.

As analysis of tumours from two patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (a highly aggressive brain tumour) receiving intracranial THC administration showed signs of autophagy.

The researchers suggest that cannabinoid administration may provide a new approach to targeting human cancers. (ANI)