Does Cannabis Help Treat Glioblastoma?

 Last year Lookah wrote an article about a UK trial to see if a cannabis-based oral spray can treat brain tumors.

The phase I trial with 27 patients was too small to provide any definitive answers. While there is still much work to do, it appeared from the phase I trial that results were encouraging enough for this proposed treatment to move to a phase II trial. Almost a year after first reporting on this, we are happy to see the trial get underway.

This new study, named ARISTOCRAT, is a phase II trial looking into whether combining the cannabis-derived oral spray Sativex with the chemotherapy drug Temozolomide works better than using Temozolomide alone for treating the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma.

The double-blind randomized trial aims to recruit 234 patients for 18 months. 2/3 of the patients will receive Temozolomide and Sativex, while 1/3 will receive Temozolomide and a placebo.

Glioblastoma is a type of cancer that occurs in the brain or spinal cord. It forms in star-shaped glial cells called astrocytes. Astrocytes play an important role in the regulation of synapses between neurons. However, when infected, these cancerous astrocytes form rapidly growing tumors and malfunction, which can cause significant problems.

The current treatment for glioblastoma is surgery followed by radiation therapy and chemotherapy. But even with treatment, the tumor cells usually regrow, resulting in 95 percent of patients dying within five years of diagnosis.

Glioblastoma affects 12,000 Americans every year, and with the average survival rate of just 15 to 18 months, clinicians realized there was a desperate need for a cure.

In 2021 The Brain Tumor Charity raised money to start trials led by researchers at the University of Leeds and coordinated by the University of Birmingham Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit.

The researchers led by Professor Susan Short are now getting underway putting this new therapy through clinical trials in the hope it can lead to a cure for glioblastoma.

While Temozolomide is a potent treatment, it was noticed that over time the tumors become resistant to this treatment allowing the tumor to regrow. Previous studies have shown that cannabis had anticancer effects, which gave reason to investigate whether combining it with this chemotherapy drug could provide a breakthrough in treatment.

Pre-trial research observed that in more server cases of the disease were characterized by an increased expression of the CB2 receptor on cancerous cells. This abnormal expression suggested cannabinoids could be a potential therapy.

With in vitro experimentation using glioblastoma cells grown in culture, it was found that treatments with THC lead to a reduction in tumor size.

Further studies revealed that THC mediates its anticancer effects by activating pathways in the cancerous cells, instructing them to self-destruct.

The same effect was not seen when the same experiments were done on healthy cells. So it would appear that the THC was able to specifically target and kill cancer cells without harming the healthy tissue.

This trial will take some time to provide sufficient evidence to prove or disprove if cannabis is an effective cure, but it’s a promising start.

Due to the potential for some drugs to interact with cannabinoids and lead to unintended side effects. Anyone looking to incorporate cannabis into a treatment plan should consult a medical professional beforehand.