Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

RainDog

(28,784 posts)
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 10:13 AM Mar 2014

Biologist Christina Sánchez: Cannabinoids kill cancer cells

Sánchez (Madrid, Spain, 1971) graduated in Biology at Madrid Complutense University in 1994. Once graduated, she joined Dr. Manuel Guzmán’’s laboratory, where she studied the effect of cannabinoids on lipid and carbohydrate intermediate metabolism first and on cancer cell proliferation later. She obtained her PhD with Honors in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Complutense University in 2000.

During her postdoc at Dr. Piomelli’’s laboratory (University of California Irvine, 2000-2003) she studied the involvement of another group of bioactive lipids (lysophosphatidic acid and related compounds) on pain initiation. In 2004, Cristina returned to Spain and she started coordinating a new line of research within Dr. Guzmán’’s laboratory. The goal of her research is to understand and exploit cannabinoids as potential antitumoral agents in breast cancer. More recently, she has also focused her attention on new cannabinoid receptors and their possible involvement in cannabinoid antitumoral action in breast cancer and other type of tumors.


http://vimeo.com/83094404#embed
3 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Biologist Christina Sánchez: Cannabinoids kill cancer cells (Original Post) RainDog Mar 2014 OP
There are a lot of things that initiate apoptosis. However, whether it is effective in humans, lostincalifornia Mar 2014 #1
As the biologist noted, Drs. in Spain are ready for human tests RainDog Mar 2014 #2
kickety n/t RainDog Mar 2014 #3

lostincalifornia

(3,639 posts)
1. There are a lot of things that initiate apoptosis. However, whether it is effective in humans,
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 10:20 AM
Mar 2014

specific types of cancers, or a wide variety also would need to be ascertained. Also, carefully monitored double blind studies are essential

RainDog

(28,784 posts)
2. As the biologist noted, Drs. in Spain are ready for human tests
Fri Mar 21, 2014, 10:31 AM
Mar 2014

For both breast cancer and gliomas (brain cancer.)

Guzman, et. al already conducted one human test with 10 subjects with gliomas that were considered beyond standard therapy and the cannabinoids shrank cancer cells in those with brain tumors.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2673842/

GW Pharma started a series of tests with 20 patients with gliomas - that was announced in Nov. 2013.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gw-pharmaceuticals-commences-phase-1b2a-clinical-trial-for-the-treatment-of-glioblastoma-multiforme-gbm-231391971.html

This study follows several years of pre-clinical research conducted by GW in the field of glioma which has demonstrated that cannabinoids inhibit the viability of glioma cells both in vitro and in vivoi,ii via apoptosis or programmed cell death, may also affect angiogenesis, and have demonstrated tumor growth-inhibiting action and an improvement in the therapeutic efficacy of temozolomide, a standard treatment for glioma. In addition, GW has shown tumor response to be positively associated with tissue levels of cannabinoids. GW has identified the putative mechanism of action for our cannabinoid product candidate, where autophagy and programmed cell death are stimulated via stimulation of the TRB3 pathway.

"We are very excited about moving this compound into further human study and the prospects of cannabinoids as new anti-cancer treatments. This is GW's first clinical study of cannabinoids as a potential treatment to inhibit tumor growth," stated Dr. Stephen Wright, Director of Research and Development at GW. "We believe this clinical program demonstrates the flexibility and broad application of GW's cannabinoid platform to treat significant, unmet therapeutic needs."

This study is a 20-patient, multicentre, two part study with an open-label phase to assess safety and tolerability of GW cannabinoids in combination with temozolomide, and a double blind, randomised, placebo-controlled phase with patients randomised to active or placebo, and with a primary outcome measure of 6 month progression free survival. The study objective is to assess the tolerability, safety and pharmacodynamics of a mixture of two principal cannabinoids, THC and CBD in a 1:1 allocation ratio, in combination with temozolomide in patients with recurrent GBM. Secondary endpoints include additional pharmacokinetic and biomarker analyses and additional measurable outcomes of tumor response.
Latest Discussions»Retired Forums»Video & Multimedia»Biologist Christina Sánch...