Cannabidiol may treat high-incidence brain cancer, study suggests

One of the components of cannabis, cannabidiol (CBD), when inhaled, can be effective in the treatment of glioblastoma, a very common brain cancer, suggests an American study.

The research, carried out on animals, found that CBD reduced tumor growth and also changed the dynamics of the tumor microenvironment, helping to fight the disease.

Conducted by researchers at Augusta University, in the United States, the investigation consisted of the use of modified glioblastoma cells in mice. Thereafter, inhaled CBD was applied to the animals for seven days. The research also had a placebo group to compare the results.

“We saw a significant reduction in tumor size, and its microenvironment was different,” Babak Baban, immunologist and associate dean of research at Augusta University’s Dental College of Georgia, told the university’s communications service.

The tumor microenvironment is composed of cancer cells, but also blood vessels and immune cells. Changing this environment is of paramount importance in fighting any cancer because it is associated with tumor growth.

In the case of the study, it was found that CBD was able to repress the P-selectin protein, which, in cases of this disease, helps in the spread of the tumor and also in its resistance to treatment.

Another molecule that cannabidiol acted on was apelin, an enzyme that may be associated with early-stage tumor development. It also acts in the critical growth of tumor blood vessels and, therefore, its inhibition may be one of the important points in the treatment of cancer.

The ability of cannabidiol to regulate inflammation, something already noticed in other medical studies, was also investigated during the research, confirming the hypothesis of the impact that the substance has on glioblastoma.

Even with these initial results, researchers have yet to see how long the benefits of CBD last. They also report that they must study in more detail the effects the substance has on cancer stem cells.

Expectations, however, are positive. Inhaled cannabidiol is easy to use, being similar to asthma inhalers, which would facilitate access to treatment if it proves useful and safe in humans.

Furthermore, in a previous study, the researchers observed that CBD collaborated in decreasing the appearance of glioblastoma, showing that the substance can even be applied to control the incidence of the tumor.