The mechanism of marijuana influence on cancer cells

Many people have heard that the marijuana leaves, being unnoticeable at first glance, contain a recipe for success in the fight against cancer. However, few people can imagine the very process of this eternal struggle of light against darkness from a biological point of view. Many scientific articles often only scare the user with an abundance of incomprehensible scientific terms. Especially for such cases, we are going to explain in layman’s terms the whole process of interaction between cannabinoids and cells.

There are two main components of hemp: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). It is known that both of these components belong to the same cannabinoid class. According to studies, it is these components that have the greatest impact on the human body.

First of all, the worth of cannabinoids is in anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) production. Those molecules sit on receptors on the cells surface throughout the body. Nowadays the existence of two types of cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, has been exactly recognized. The first of them are responsible for memory, movement, and emetic reactions, while the latter act on the immune system. Many tissues contain both of these types of protein molecules.

THC and CBD are interchangeable with anandamide. The interesting thing is that both of these cannabis substances enhance our endocannabinoid system, that’s why hemp is a highly effective medicine. But this is just one part of the story. THC and CBD directly affect malignant neoplasms and tumors, leading to the death of wrong cells, destroying their mitochondria and blocking blood flow to them. Besides, the CBD inhibits the anandamide destroying enzyme, and this is the reason why even more body defenses enter into battle.

1. Programmed cell death.

For still unknown reasons, an “evil” or damaged cell stops responding to the body’s normal immune signals. Usually old, damaged or somehow mutated cells are subjects to a process of programmed cell death. Programmed cell death should prevent the mutated cell growth and fission. This process stops in case of cancer. This forms a tumor.  Studies having been led for the last two decades have shown that cannabinoids, as THC and CBD, would have caused programmed cell death in various types of cancer. Study link.

2. Thereby antiproliferative effect, that is the ability to restrain cell growth, prevents the growth of tumors in the body. It has been recognized that cannabinoids could exhibit a apparent antiproliferative response by stopping the cancer cells reproduction.

3. Antimetastatic effect. When the cancer cells break off, travel through the bloodstream and settle in different parts of the body, the tumor becomes metastatic. Metastatic types of cancer are extremely difficult to treat. Studies on cellular and animal samples have shown that THC and CBD have antimetastatic properties, e.i. cannabis prevents the cancer spread from one part of the body to another.

4. Angiogenesis is the blood vessels development. When a tumor is formed, then blood vessels necessary to feed the tumor are formed. In order for a tumor to develop, it needs to develop its blood vessels to pump nutrients and oxygen from the whole body. The blood vessels development process is named as angiogenesis. After various preclinical studies of cells and animals it has been supposed that both THC and CBD prevent the tumors formation in blood vessels. Theoretically this blocks the tumor access to nutrition, which otherwise would keep it alive, and prevents the tumor growth.

Thus, once in the body (we are talking exclusively about the medical route of entry), cannabinoids begin to attack cancer cells, preventing inflammation in the surrounding tissues, and also causing the cells to self-destruct by inhibiting their growth; moreover, they stop the growth of blood vessels feeding the cancer, while enhancing the immune system antiviral activity.

By this time there have been conducted many studies having showed the effective impact of cannabis in the cancer treatment on all four points. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions imposed on the use of marijuana for medical purposes, they were all carried out on experimental rodents. However, the fact that all studies have shown exceptional efficiency of the method suggests that the day when the marijuana effectiveness in the cancer treatment will be tested on humans is creeping in closer to us!