CBD Compounds Show Promise against Ovarian Cancer

Early laboratory work has shown that a combination of CBD and THC may inhibit ovarian cancer cells with some low impact on healthy cells.

Scientists have reported encouraging findings revealing that the CBD-based compounds would play a role in the treatment of ovarian cancer in the future. The compounds cannabidiol, or CBD, and tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, both found in cannabis, have been tested on ovarian cancer cells, and significant anti-cancer activity was observed in the laboratory.

The study, which was led by Dr. Siyao Tong of Khon Kaen University's group, aimed at two targets of the ovarian cancer cell lines, which were sensitive and resistant to standard chemotherapy. When exposed to CBD or THC or a combination of both, cancer cells showed decreased abilities for growth, reproduction, and migration. The best results seemed to be when CBD and THC were used in equal proportions.

Scientists found that CBD and THC disrupted the function of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway that was found to be commonly overactive in ovarian cancer and is associated with tumor growth and resistance to treatment. Importantly, the compounds showed little toxicity to healthy cells, as a possible sign of their use against inflammatory disorders: better-tolerated therapies than existing drugs.

While the findings add a bit of interest in researching the effects of cannabidiol on cancer, scientists warned that the results are preliminary. All the experiments were conducted in vitro, and more animal studies and clinical trials will be necessary to prove safety, dosage, and effectiveness.

If confirmed in further research studies, combination therapies of CBD-THC could spur new areas in cannabis-based medicine in treating one of the deadliest gynecological cancers.