Study: cannabis as a potential treatment for ovarian cancer

The results of the first studies to examine the action of cannabis on ovarian cancer show interesting potential.

«Hemp, like cannabis, contains therapeutically useful compounds such as cannabidiol, the cannabinol and the tetrahydrocannabinol »explains Sara Bielsa, co-presenter of the study at the’Experimental Biology 2018 held in San Diego from April 21 to 25.

Two studies have been investigating the therapeutic potential of a cannabis extract called KY-hemp, a variety of Kentucky hemp. The plant variety, growing conditions and processing techniques have been optimized to produce a cannabinoid-rich, residue-free extract.

In the first study, the researchers showed that the addition of different doses of KY-hemp on ovarian cell culture led to a significant dose-dependent slowdown in cell migration. This finding indicates that the extract could be used to halt or reverse slow the spread of cancer to other parts of the body.

In the second study, researchers explored the effects of the same cannabis extract on ovarian cancer. Experiments on ovarian cancer cells showed that KY-hemp slowed the secretion of an interleukin associated with inflammation and cancer progression. This cannabis extract-induced slowdown could represent a possible biological anti-cancer mechanism.

«Our results and previous research show that the KY-hemp slows down ovarian cancer comparably or even better than the ovarian cancer drug Cisplatin,» says Chase Turner, the other researcher in charge of the study.

«Since Cisplatin has high toxicity, we expect cannabis to have fewer side effects, which needs to be tested in the future.»

The researchers are planning further tests on mice after completing additional research on cell cultures to learn more about the cancer cell death induced by their cannabis extract.