This is the first study on tumors that examines inhalation as an effective way of administering CBD. A survey of the inhalation of CBD has shown it may provide anti-cancer activity in animals with glioblastoma.
The researchers studied the effects of CBD on the highly aggressive form of brain cancer.
Glioblastoma can form in the brain or spinal cord. It can occur at any age but is more common in adults. Side effects can include nausea, vomiting, painful headaches and seizures.
The life expectancy of a patient with glioblastoma is estimated to be around 12 to 18 months, with only 25 percent of patients surviving the first year. Current treatment includes radiotherapy and chemotherapy or surgery.
Glioblastoma inflammation
The researchers affiliated with Augusta University in Georgia and the Georgia Cancer Centre studied how inhaled CBD could affect tumor growth. This is the first study examining inhalation as an effective way of administering CBD.
They reported that CBD administration limited tumor growth in mice and also altered other factors that facilitate progression. The researchers noted a significant reduction in tumor size after just seven days. Using human cells, they created a glioblastoma model in mice. After their tumors developed, The mice were treated using a daily dose of CBD or a placebo.
The CBD altered the tumor’s ecosystem while restoring the levels of inflammation that target the glioblastoma. The microenvironment includes immune cells and blood vessels that help tumors grow before spreading.
Dr Babak Baban, an immunologist at the Dental College of Georgia at Augusta University, said: “We saw a significant reduction in the size of the tumor, and its microenvironment was different.
“It is about immune balance. Inflammation is heightened in response to a frontline attack on a tumor, which is a normal response; our immune system regularly attacks cancerous or precancerous cells. But when a tumor becomes established, it takes charge, switching to producing a more chronic inflammation that ultimately protects it from the immune system.”
Glioblastoma response
The study also showed that CBD helps the immune system recognize cancer. It also produced CD8, a sugar-coated protein that aids an immune response. The suppression of the immune response by CBD increases both, leading to a potentially better prognosis.
The ability of CBD to reduce inflammation may also make it a potential therapy for those with damaged lungs from COVID-19.
Dr Baban said: “It is a puzzle, and that is why we need good immune regulators. CBD is a very smart regulator,” that can make adjustments based on its environment, like turning apelin down in glioblastoma and up in the face of lungs damaged by COVID, he says. DCG and MCG investigators reported last year that CBD increases levels of apelin, which they have shown go way down with a SARS-CoV-2 infection, and in that scenario, the apelin increase reduces inflammation and the “cytokine storm” that has wreaked destruction in the lungs of patients.”
“Right now, we are excited that the tumor shrinks,“ he concluded.
Disclaimers: https://cannabishealthnews.co.uk/2022/01/04/study-shows-inhaled-cbd-may-help-to-shrink-tumour-and-prevent-growth-pain22
