Is There a Cannabis - Cancer Connection?

BY KATIE WEITMAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHEW BOURGEOIS

There’s been a lot of hype around cannabis use among cancer patients, and for good reason. As with many other diseases, such as Lyme Disease or Multiple Sclerosis, cancer patients use cannabis largely to treat symptoms like chemotherapy-induced pain and nausea. But unlike many other disorders cannabis is used to treat, research shows cannabis may be able to not only treat cancer symptoms, but may also actually combat the disease. While many current cancer treatments, most notably chemotherapy and radiation therapies, are literally poisonous, cannabis may offer a safe, natural alternative that has minimal side effects.

Researchers and medical providers initially became interested in the potential for using cannabis to treat cancer patients after seeing how HIV/AIDS patients responded. The success rates of cannabis in treating cachexia (or wasting syndrome) led many to believe that cannabis could be used to help treat the side effects of chemotherapy. Researchers have since found that cannabis not only treats the side effects of chemo, but that it also seems to increase its efficacy when treating certain kinds of cancer. There is also some data to suggest that cannabinoids can also increase the efficacy of radiation treatment, but there is less research into radiation than chemotherapy.

In addition to the dozens of anecdotal success stories, recent research shows great promise in using cannabinoids to treat cancer patients. Studies dating back to the 1970s have shown THC slows tumor growth. Subsequent studies have shown that cannabinoids— THC as well as others—not only slow tumor growth, but also promote apoptosis (cell death) in certain cancer cell lines and interfere with neovascularization (that is, it limits blood supply to tumors). This helps prevent migration, adhesion, and matastization—i.e., the spread of cancer to different parts of the body. And, it seems cannabinoids do this in a targeted manner so that only cancerous cells are destroyed. There even seems to be some evidence that as cannabinoids kill diseased cells they simultaneously fortify healthy ones.

Interestingly, cannabis seems to treat certain types of cancer better than others. Research has shown that cannabis has high success rates in killing skin and bladder cancer cells and seems to be effective at preventing the spread of breast cancer and shrinking tumor size in patients with glioblastoma. Cancer Research UK has helped fund Dr. Chris Paraskeva’s research into the potential benefits of endocannabinoids and THC in treating bowel cancer, and a review done by the California Men’s Health Study found lower rates of bladder cancer in cannabis users.

There has been more research into the effects of cannabis on certain types of cancers than others. Several studies have been done to assess the viability of cannabis as a potential therapy for breast cancer, for instance. There have also been a number of studies done on the effects of cannabinoids on gliomas (brain cancer) and leukemia. Researchers have also looked into the effects of cannabinoids on glioblastomas, astrocytomas, and neuroblastoma (all forms of brain cancer), prostate cancer, testicular cancer, colon cancer, uterine cancer, thyroid and lymphoid cancer and tumors, lung cancer, and skin cancer.

While cannabis seems to be an effective treatment for certain types of cancer, it also seems to increase tumor growth in some cell lines. A notable example is breast cancer, where cannabinoids seem to be very effective in treating certain cell lines, but seems to accelerate tumor growth in other models. A new report out of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine shows that THC actually accelerates head and neck cancer in patients with HPV. Another very famous study done in Sweden, which surveyed almost 50,000 men, found higher rates of testicular cancer in heavy cannabis users. The results of this survey appear to be validated by other recent studies. So not all cancers are created equal when it comes to cannabis treatments.

One reason that certain types of cancer may be more receptive to cannabis treatments is that certain types of cancer cells have higher than normal levels of cannabinoid receptors. Some argue that this shows cannabinoids don’t just happen to kill cancer cells, but that the human body is programmed to respond this way. Supporting this assumption is research that shows endogenous cannabinoids like anandamide, an endocannabinoid structurally similar to THC, kill cancer cells in a similar way to their phytocannabinoid counterparts. There is ample evidence available to support the idea that patients with stronger endocannabinoid systems have better success rates, and several case reports have shown a dose-dependent relationship between cancer cell levels and the amount of concentrate used. There is also some evidence that cannabis users are at decreased risk for certain types of cancer, like lung cancer.

There are many methods of consumption utilized by cancer patients, but perhaps the most common is hemp oil. Generally speaking, cancer treatment calls for high doses of cannabis, making concentrated forms of cannabis especially useful. Full-spectrum methods are also often preferred so that various therapeutic molecules can work synergistically to attack cancer from multiple angles—for instance, THC appears to reduce tumor size, whereas CBD seems to prevent the proliferation of new cancer cells (CBG has also been shown to have an effect on the spread of cancer). One product that’s received a lot of press in recent years is Rick Simpson Oil (RSO). In 1997, Rick Simpson, a Canadian engineer, suffered a serious head injury that resulted in unbearable tinnitus. Vaguely familiar with the concept of medical cannabis, and unable to control his symptoms with medications prescribed by his doctor, Rick decided (against his doctor’s advice) to check it out and see if it was really the ‘miracle drug’ that many contemporary researchers were proclaiming it to be. Rick found that using cannabis greatly reduced his symptoms without any notable side effects. Then, in 2003, Rick was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. He had come across a study done in the ‘70s that seemed to show THC actually killed cancer cells in mice. Having personally experienced significant relief himself when using cannabis to treat other maladies, Rick decided to see if cannabis could really work to treat his cancer. He made a concentrated oil and applied that topically to the cancerous spots on his arm and bandaged them. Within a week, the spots were gone, and Rick was convinced that cannabis didn’t just treat but could actually cure cancer. So he started spreading the word of his success and sharing his cannabis concoction with over 5,000 others suffering from debilitating diseases free of charge. He was met with resistance by the Canadian authorities and has had 2,600 plants confiscated and been convicted on criminal charges.

RSO is now considered a standard treatment by many cannabis providers looking to help patients with cancer. Not only has there been a strong correlation between RSO use and reduced tumor size and remission rates, but it also appears that THC and CBD increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Because of its high potency RSO can have more side effects than other forms of cannabis, the most frequent being increased drowsiness. Patients who are looking to treat side effects of other therapies might prefer vaporizing (which acts much more quickly) or edibles (which come in much lower doses). There have also been several studies on the effectiveness of synthetic cannabinoids, such as Drabinol (synthetic THC) and Nabiximols (synthetic 1:1 THC:CBD), but they don’t seem to work as well as their natural cannabinoid counterparts.

Although there have only been a small number of controlled experiments involving humans, there are a plethora of studies that have been done using cancer cell lines and mice. Of course, more research needs to be done, but the results of these in-vitro and animal studies show great promise and have researchers and medical providers hopeful about the treatment potential of cannabis. The biggest concern most providers report when it comes to the use of cannabis as a treatment option in cancer patients is their lack of knowledge on the subject. While they are familiar with many of the potential benefits, they are unaware of which products might work best and what the potential drug interactions might be. Concerns relating to lung damage or minor cognitive impairment may not matter as much to terminal patients, so the issue seems to be less about the long-term effects and more about basic education on medical cannabis.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MATTHEW BOURGEOIS