Chemotherapy combined with CBD Against pancreatic cancer
New research shows that combined chemotherapy with CBD triples the survival time of mice with pancreatic cancer, compared to chemotherapy alone.
A new study published in the journal Oncogene examined the effects of combining chemotherapy with CBD (cannabidiol - the non-psychoactive component of cannabis) for mice with pancreatic cancer.
Survival time - up to 3 times
One group of mice received chemotherapy alone, in the form of the drug gemcitabine, a chemotherapy drug given to treat several cancers. The second group received a combination of gemcitabine and CBD.
The summary of the study found that the survival time for the group that received both gemcitabine and CBD was 3 times longer than the group that received gemcitabine alone. In other words, the combination of CBD and chemotherapy was more effective than chemotherapy alone.
"Cannabidiol is already approved for clinical use in the UK, so we may soon be able to review the results in human research," said lead researcher Marco Palaska from Queen Mary University in London.
Studies determine
This is not the first study in mice to suggest CBD as a potential treatment for cancer. There is research evidence showing that CBD inhibits the growth and spread of cancer cells, and it has been researched in the past as a potential treatment for bowel cancer, thyroid cancer, breast cancer and more.
An Israeli study found that leukemia patients who need a bone marrow transplant can improve the chances of receiving the transplant at a much higher percentage with the help of daily CBD before and after the transplant. The use of CBD has significantly reduced the risk of a phenomenon known as GVHD, in which the body rejects the transplant.
Elsewhere, like the U.S. for example, it is still difficult to conduct research on CBD in humans, as the cannabis plant is still in Schedule 1, the most severe category in federal drug laws. However, some progress was made this year when the US FDA approved in June this year the first CBD-based drug to treat severe forms of epilepsy.
Pancreatic cancer, on which the present study is conducted, is one of the most deadly cancers in the world in terms of survival chances. According to the American Cancer Society, only 20% of patients with this cancer survive over a year, and only 7% survive over 5 years. Pancreatic cancer is the 12th most common type of cancer, and is more common in developed countries.
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