Cannabinoids for cancer treatment.
Many studies have concluded that there is substantial evidence to support that cannabinoids help to treat side effects of cancer itself and traditional cancer treatment. Symptoms such as nausea, poor appetite and pain may all benefit from the use of medical cannabis. Studies surrounding cannabis have mainly focused on the treatment of symptoms, but is it possible that cannabinoids can even help to reduce and kill cancer cells and tumors? Although studied in animal subjects it has not been thoroughly explored in human cancer patients.
"In a recent study "A Reveiw of the Therapeutic Antitumor Potential of Cannabinoids" coauthors Višnja Bogdanović and Jasminka Mrdjanović, Oncology Institute of Vojvodina (Sremska Kamenica, Serbia), and Ivana Borišev, University of Novi Sad (Serbia) present the results of a detailed survey of the medical and scientific literature focused on the effects of cannabinoids on signaling pathways involved in tumor cell proliferation and death." The researchers reported on clinical studies conducted to date in an assessment of the anti-tumor effects and possible effects in cancer treatment.
So can cannabinoids go beyond easing symptoms and treat cancer itself? Due to the politics surrounding the plant, researchers were only able to report on a small number of studies.
"Preclinical studies on different models mostly show that cannabinoids reduce tumor progression. Moreover, cannabinoids are found to possess selectivity for specific cancer cells, while at the same time protecting healthy tissue from cell death." (Bogdanović, Mrdjanović & Borišev 2017)
Although we are still in the process of learning about all of the healing properties medical cannabis has to offer it already has a myriad of proven benefits.