CBD may “act as an adjunct to enhance treatment efficacy” in glioblastoma multiforme, which is “the most common and aggressive form of primary malignant brain tumor in adults”, according to a study published by the journal Translational Oncology.
“Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive form of primary malignant brain tumor in adults, with poor prognosis”, states the study’s abstract. “Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are key-mediators for cellular communication through transfer of proteins and genetic material. Cancers, such as GBM, use EV release for drug-efflux, pro-oncogenic signaling, invasion and immunosuppression; thus the modulation of EV release and cargo is of considerable clinical relevance.”
As EV-inhibitors have been shown to increase sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy, “and we recently showed that cannabidiol (CBD) is such an EV-modulator”, researchers “investigated whether CBD affects EV profile in GBM cells in the presence and absence of temozolomide (TMZ).” Compared to controls, “CBD-treated cells released EVs containing lower levels of pro-oncogenic miR21 and increased levels of anti-oncogenic miR126; these effects were greater than with TMZ alone. In addition, prohibitin (PHB), a multifunctional protein with mitochondrial protective properties and chemoresistant functions, was reduced in GBM cells following 1 h CBD treatment.”
Read moreStudy: CBD May Enhance Treatment Efficiacy in Glioblastoma Multiforme (Brain Tumor)
“Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequent and aggressive type of brain tumor due, at least in part, to its poor response to current anticancer treatments”, states the study’s abstract. “These features could be explained, at least partially, by the presence within the tumor mass of a small population of cells termed Glioma Initiating Cells (GICs) that has been proposed to be responsible for the relapses occurring in this disease.” Thus, “the development of novel therapeutic approaches (and specifically those targeting the population of GICs) is urgently needed to improve the survival of the patients suffering this devastating disease.”