In a new study, researchers examined human and canine brain cancer cells and found that cannabidiol could be a useful therapy for difficult-to-treat brain cancer.
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a non-psychoactive chemical compound derived from marijuana.
The researchers looked at glioblastoma, an often-deadly form of brain cancer that grows and spreads very quickly.
Even with major advancements in treatment, survival rates for this cancer have not improved significantly.
The research was conducted by a team at Colorado State University.
In the study, the team examined human and canine glioblastoma cells because cancer shows striking similarities between the two species.
They tested the effects of CBD isolate, which contains 100 percent CBD, and CBD extract, which contains small amounts of other naturally occurring compounds such as cannabigerol and tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.
The experiments showed that CBD slows cancer cell growth and is toxic to both canine and human glioblastoma cell lines.
Importantly, the differences in anti-cancer effects between CBD isolate and extract appear to be negligible.
The new work revealed that the toxic effects of CBD are mediated through the cell’s natural pathway for apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death.
The researchers also observed that CBD-induced cell death was characterized by large, swollen intracellular vesicles before the membrane begins to bulge and breakdown. This was true for all the cell lines studied.
The researchers believe that CBD’s anti-cancer actions target mitochondria—the cell’s energy-producing structures—by causing the mitochondria to dysfunction and release harmful reactive oxygen species.
Their experiments showed that cells treated with CBD exhibited significant decreases in mitochondrial activity.
Next, the researchers plan to transition from cell cultures to animal models to test CBD’s effects on glioblastoma.
If the animal studies go well, the work could progress to clinical trials on dogs that are being treated for naturally occurring glioblastoma at the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
One author of the study is Chase Gross, a student in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine/Master of Science program.
The study is published in The FASEB Journal.
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