A concentrated extract from cannabis has shown "remarkable" ability to eradicate the deadliest types of skin cancer
Indeed, it's early days, but if these results can be replicated in living animal models and then humans, it could offer a completely new medicinal avenue for a disease that is currently difficult to treat (skin cancer).
The cannabis oil in question is known as PHEC-66 and was developed by MGC Pharmaceuticals in Australia.
In October 2023, the company financed a study that found PHEC-66 halted the spread of isolated skin cancer cell lines in the laboratory.
Follow-up research conducted by scientists at RMIT University and Charles Darwin University (CDU) has corroborated these findings.
The results obtained by the team indicate that the cannabis extract prevents skin cancer cells from proliferating by forcing the disease to kill itself.
For further clarification, CDU biomedical scientist Nazem Nassar said, "The damage inflicted on the melanoma cell prevents it from dividing into new cells and instead initiates programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis." He added, "Whether this is successful in a living animal body is another matter that still needs to be investigated. No clinical trials on cannabis oil have yet been conducted, and high-quality research on the ability of cannabis compounds to combat cancer remains sparse." This was reported by the "Science Alert" site from the prestigious scientific journal "cellse".
Humans have used cannabis as a medicine for thousands of years, yet its misuse in recent centuries has greatly impeded scientific research.
In this context, and in a bold move, Australia legalized the use of cannabis for medical purposes in 2016, allowing scientific teams to investigate the drug's potential to treat a large number of diseases.
In just the past few years alone, researchers in Australia have found significant potential for cannabis in killing certain types of cancer cells; all without affecting healthy normal cells.
For example, in 2020, an Australian biotech company found that some cannabis strains could cause leukemia cell death in the lab, supporting research from other parts of the world for more than a decade.
In 2015, scientists in the United States found that when cannabinoid receptors present on non-melanin skin cancer cells were targeted, the cells began to suffer from oxidative stress, leading to programmed cell death.
A few years ago, researchers in Italy found that cannabis compounds showed similar results in fighting pancreatic cancer. Skin cancer is now being added to the list.
Nizar comments on this by saying, "This is a growing field of important research because we need to understand cannabis extracts as much as possible, especially their ability to act as anti-cancer agents; if we know how they interact with cancer cells, particularly in causing cell death, we can improve treatment techniques to be more specific, responsive, and effective." He explained, "The current study results suggest that PHEC-66 leads to programmed cell death by stimulating DNA fragmentation, stopping cell growth through division, and significantly increasing levels of reactive oxygen species within cells (ROS)."
ROS are short-lived but highly reactive molecules, and when high, they can cause damage to many different parts of the cell. If the damaged cell reaches a point of no return, it may sacrifice itself for the greater good.
In the lab, PHEC-66 appears to increase the likelihood of programmed cell death in three lines of skin cancer cells by targeting cannabinoid receptors and allowing ROS to accumulate inside the cell.
Further animal studies are now needed to see if the results apply to cancer cells in living models.
For example, researchers still need to know how to apply the drug and at what dosage. Only then can human clinical trials be considered.
Today, research on most cannabis compounds is confined to the lab; while preliminary trials suggest that some cannabinoids can inhibit cell growth and cause their death, other candidates actually seem to encourage the growth of cancer cells.
There are hundreds of cannabis compounds in the plant, and researchers have only scratched the surface of their medical potential. While it is too early to say whether the cannabis plant will help advance cancer treatments in the future, when it comes to deadly diseases like skin cancer that are difficult to treat, every reason to continue the search.
In October 2023, the company financed a study that found PHEC-66 halted the spread of isolated skin cancer cell lines in the laboratory.
Follow-up research conducted by scientists at RMIT University and Charles Darwin University (CDU) has corroborated these findings.
The results obtained by the team indicate that the cannabis extract prevents skin cancer cells from proliferating by forcing the disease to kill itself.
For further clarification, CDU biomedical scientist Nazem Nassar said, "The damage inflicted on the melanoma cell prevents it from dividing into new cells and instead initiates programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis." He added, "Whether this is successful in a living animal body is another matter that still needs to be investigated. No clinical trials on cannabis oil have yet been conducted, and high-quality research on the ability of cannabis compounds to combat cancer remains sparse." This was reported by the "Science Alert" site from the prestigious scientific journal "cellse".
Humans have used cannabis as a medicine for thousands of years, yet its misuse in recent centuries has greatly impeded scientific research.
In this context, and in a bold move, Australia legalized the use of cannabis for medical purposes in 2016, allowing scientific teams to investigate the drug's potential to treat a large number of diseases.
In just the past few years alone, researchers in Australia have found significant potential for cannabis in killing certain types of cancer cells; all without affecting healthy normal cells.
For example, in 2020, an Australian biotech company found that some cannabis strains could cause leukemia cell death in the lab, supporting research from other parts of the world for more than a decade.
In 2015, scientists in the United States found that when cannabinoid receptors present on non-melanin skin cancer cells were targeted, the cells began to suffer from oxidative stress, leading to programmed cell death.
A few years ago, researchers in Italy found that cannabis compounds showed similar results in fighting pancreatic cancer. Skin cancer is now being added to the list.
Nizar comments on this by saying, "This is a growing field of important research because we need to understand cannabis extracts as much as possible, especially their ability to act as anti-cancer agents; if we know how they interact with cancer cells, particularly in causing cell death, we can improve treatment techniques to be more specific, responsive, and effective." He explained, "The current study results suggest that PHEC-66 leads to programmed cell death by stimulating DNA fragmentation, stopping cell growth through division, and significantly increasing levels of reactive oxygen species within cells (ROS)."
ROS are short-lived but highly reactive molecules, and when high, they can cause damage to many different parts of the cell. If the damaged cell reaches a point of no return, it may sacrifice itself for the greater good.
In the lab, PHEC-66 appears to increase the likelihood of programmed cell death in three lines of skin cancer cells by targeting cannabinoid receptors and allowing ROS to accumulate inside the cell.
Further animal studies are now needed to see if the results apply to cancer cells in living models.
For example, researchers still need to know how to apply the drug and at what dosage. Only then can human clinical trials be considered.
Today, research on most cannabis compounds is confined to the lab; while preliminary trials suggest that some cannabinoids can inhibit cell growth and cause their death, other candidates actually seem to encourage the growth of cancer cells.
There are hundreds of cannabis compounds in the plant, and researchers have only scratched the surface of their medical potential. While it is too early to say whether the cannabis plant will help advance cancer treatments in the future, when it comes to deadly diseases like skin cancer that are difficult to treat, every reason to continue the search.
