It’s not new news that cannabis may be helpful in treating cancer, specifically breast cancer. Now, researchers are gaining a more nuanced understanding of how cannabis can be an effective treatment.
According to research from the California Pacific Medical Research Center published last year, CBD, the non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis, can help inhibit metastasis in breast cancer cells. Metastasis is a tumor’s ability to spread throughout the body.
“We have found [CBD] inhibits key genes involved in tumor progression and metastasis,” Dr. Sean McAllister, a lead research in the study, told ATTN:.
McAllister claims CBD appears to inhibit the Id-1 and Akt genes, which have been known to play a role in the progress of tumor growth. McAllister and his fellow researchers have studied this concept for years, with their first published work appearing in 2007. McAllister explained to media outlets at the time that treatments such as chemotherapy can be effective for some patients, but they are not always effective for everyone. Beyond that, intense chemotherapy treatments can come with crippling side effects like pain and vomiting.
“[CBD] has a very low toxicity profile whereas standard cancer treatments are highly toxic,” McAllister said. “The data, however, shows cannabinoids are most effective when combined with standard first-line agents.” He believes compounds like CBD may be best used in tandem with other traditional methods.
Breast cancer is a dangerous and prevalent disease. It is believed one in eight women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives. The prevalence in men is only around one in 1,000. About 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 60,290 cases of noninvasive breast cancer are expected to appear in the U.S. by the end of this year. Studies have shown certain cannabinoid receptors are “overexpressed on tumor cells,” especially tumor cells found in breast and lung cancers, which means they may be more susceptible to cannabinoid-based treatments…
(How Cannabis Fights Breast Cancer – Weed Finder™ News | Article Credit: ATTN, Thor Benson)