Those who are familiar with marijuana know there are a variety\nof medical applications, from treating\nnausea\nto helping to alleviate the symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders such\nas Crohn's\nDisease.\nToday, however, scientists are finding that medical marijuana, when used\nin conjunction with other forms of cancer treatment, is capable of\nshrinking some of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer known to\nscience. Here's what you need to know:
\nCannabis as a Treatment for Glioma
\nGlioma\nis a form of cancer that develops in the supportive tissue of the human\nbrain. This tissue is designed to enhance neuron function and when a\ntumor begins to grow within it, the affected person experiences nausea,\nheadaches, vision changes, altered behavior and personality changes.\nPatients affected by glioma are subject to a bleak 5 percent survival\nrate over three\nyears.
\nUntil now, the treatment options for glioma have been limited to surgery\nand chemotherapy in the event of high-grade tumors. Today, however, this\nmay be changing. According to a 2014\nstudy\nconducted by oncologist Wai Lu at St. George's University of London,\ncannabinoids like THC and CBD are highly efficient at destroying glioma\ncells. During a clinical study, Lu found that CBD and THC alone were\ncapable of killing roughly half of the glioma cells present in affected\nmice. When these cannabinoids were used in conjunction with\nradiotherapy, however, the treatment caused the tumors in several of the\nmice to stop growing entirely.
\nAdditionally, Lu found that when THC and CBD were used together to treat\ntumors, researchers could use less of each compound and still achieve\nthe same effects. This is important because THC is psychoactive and can\ncause unwanted psychoactive side effects for people receiving treatment.\nFortunately, when combined with CBD, THC can be used in smaller doses\nand patients receiving treatment can reap the medical benefits of the\ncompound without any of the \"high\" feelings traditionally associated\nwith it.
\nHow Cannabis Works to Treat Brain Cancer
\nWhile the results of Lu's study are exciting, researchers are still\nworking to figure out how, exactly, THC and CBD are producing these\neffects. According to Lu, the answer may be that the cannabinoids are\npreparing neural pathways for radiotherapy. \"We think that the\ncannabinoids are hitting a number of cell signaling pathways, which\nprimes them to the effects of irradiation,\" Lu\nsays.\nOnce the cells have been primed, the ability of a tumor cell to rebuild\nitself is damaged and the tumor cells die as a result. The outstanding\nthing about this treatment, however, is that while THC and CBD have been\nshown to kill glioma cells, they don't produce any negative effects in\nthe healthy cell tissue surrounding the glial cells. In fact,\ncannabinoids may even protect these\ncells\nfrom damage.
\nWhile the results of Lu's study are particularly exciting given the\naggressive and often-fatal nature of glioma, this is not the first\nevidence researchers have of cannabis being used to treat different\nforms of cancer. Cannabis contains upward of 85 different cannabinoids,\nand previous\nstudies have\nshown that these cannabinoids are capable of killing various types of\ncancer cells. This research has given scientists a place to start when\nevaluating the use of CBD and THC for cancer treatment.
\nMarijuana and Cancer Prevention
\nIn addition to the recent findings that cannabinoids may be an effective\ntreatment for glioma, researchers have discovered over the years that\nmarijuana may also have powerful anti-tumor effects, which could stop\ncancer from ever forming in the first place. While the research isn't\nnew, it paved the way for further evaluations of the connection between\ncannabis and cancer. In one 1996\nstudy,\nresearchers found that lab mice given doses of THC over a two-year\nperiod experienced a decrease in the rate of certain cancers and benign\ntumors in areas such as the pancreas, uterus, testes and mammary tissue.
\nMore recent research has shed some light on how cannabis produces these\neffects. According to a 2014\nstudy\npublished in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, THC acts on\ncannabinoid cell receptors to inhibit the interactions between them,\nthus decreasing the risk that cancer will form or interrupting cancer\nthat is already growing. Further research has shown that THC is capable\nof decreasing the rate of lung cancer cell\ngrowth\nby 50 percent as well as preventing pre-existing cancer from\nmetastasizing throughout the body. Studies have also shown that cannabis\nis capable of killing brain cancer\ncells. The\nanti-cancer benefits of cannabis are extensive and clearly noted, and,\nwhen used correctly, can help providers offer powerful cancer treatment\nwithout the dangerous and uncomfortable side-effects present in other\ntreatment options.
\nMoving Forward: The Future of Marijuana and Glioma
\nLu's 2014 study was groundbreaking in the world of glioma research and,\nwhile further research is needed to put his findings into action on a\nlarge scale, it's clear that cannabis may be more powerful than\nresearchers previously thought when it comes to treating aggressive\nforms of cancer. In addition to offering relief from many of the\nsymptoms associated with cancer and cancer treatment (such as nausea,\nvomiting, pain and decreases in\nappetite),\ncannabis also boasts an extensive list of anti-tumor and cancer-treating\nproperties. These properties present huge opportunities for treatment to\ncancer patients and their families, and have the potential to alter the\nface of cancer treatment forever.
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