Cannabidiol (CBD) Is a Novel Inhibitor for Exosome and Microvesicle (EMV) Release in Cancer

Exosomes and microvesicles (EMV) are lipid bilayer-enclosed structures, released by cells and involved in intercellular communication through transfer of proteins and genetic material. EMV release is also associated with various pathologies, including cancer, where increased EMV release is amongst other associated with chemo-resistance and active transfer of pro-oncogenic factors. We suggest that the known anti-cancer effects of CBD may partly be due to the regulatory effects on EMV biogenesis, and thus CBD poses as a novel and safe modulator of EMV-mediated pathological events.

Care After Chemotherapy: Peripheral Neuropathy, Cannabis for Symptom Control, and Mindfulness

As cancer therapies improve, patients are living longer. With these improvements in therapy comes a responsibility to optimize patients’ quality of life during cancer therapy and beyond. Although clinical trials are difficult to conduct because of the political and social stigma of this class of drugs, this review provides evidence of the efficacy of cannabinoids for treatment of pain and nausea.

Oncology Clinicians and the Minnesota Medical Cannabis Program: A Survey on Medical Cannabis Practice Patterns, Barriers to Enrollment, and Educational Needs

Background: Medical cannabis has been available in the State of Minnesota since July 2015 through the Minnesota Medical CannabisProgram (MMCP). Objectives: Our study aimed to delineate oncology providers’ views on medical cannabis, identify barriers to patient enrollment, and assess clinicians’ interest in a clinical trial of medical cannabis in patients with stage IV cancer. This study illustrates a clear need to give clinicians both data and education to guide their discussions about the benefits, risks, and cost considerations of using medical cannabis for cancer-related symptoms.

[Therapeutic use of cannabis derivatives].

The therapeutic use of cannabis has generated a lot of interest in the past years, leading to a better understanding of its mechanisms of action. Countries like the United States and Canada have modified their laws in order to make cannabinoid use legal in the medical context. It’s also the case in France now, where a recent decree was issued, authorizing the prescription of medication containing “therapeutic cannabis” (decree no. 2013-473, June 5, 2013). These agents are most promising to relieve chronic pain associated with cancer, with human immunodeficiency virus infection and with multiple sclerosis.

A Review of the Therapeutic Antitumor Potential of Cannabinoids

The aim of this review is to discuss cannabinoids from a preclinical and clinical oncological perspective and provide the audience with a concise, retrospective overview of the most significant findings concerning the potential use of cannabinoids in cancer treatment. Further studies require extensive monitoring of the effects of cannabinoids alone or in combination with standard anticancer strategies. With such knowledge, cannabinoids could become a therapy of choice in contemporary oncology.

Cannabidiol: from an inactive cannabinoid to a drug with wide spectrum of action

The aim of this review is to describe the historical development of research on cannabidiol. These studies have suggested a wide range of possible therapeutic effects of cannabidiol on several conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cerebral ischemia, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, other inflammatory diseases, nausea and cancer.

Integrating cannabis into clinical cancer care

Cannabis species have been used as medicine for thousands of years; only since the 1940s has the plant not been widely available for medical use. However, an increasing number of jurisdictions are making it possible for patients to obtain the botanical for medicinal use. Despite an absence of clinical trials, abundant anecdotal reports that describe patients having remarkable responses to cannabis as an anticancer agent, especially when taken as a high-potency orally ingested concentrate, are circulating.

Cannabis in cancer care

Cannabis has been used in medicine for thousands of years prior to achieving its current illicit substance status. Cannabinoids, the active components of Cannabis sativa, mimic the effects of the endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids), activating specific cannabinoid receptors, particularly CB1 found predominantly in the central nervous system and CB2 found predominantly in cells involved with immune function.

Medical cannabis in the treatment of cancer pain and spastic conditions and options of drug delivery in clinical practice

The use of cannabis for medical purposes has been recently legalised in many countries including the Czech Republic. As a result, there is increased interest on the part of physicians and patients in many aspects of its application. This mini review briefly covers the main active substances of the cannabis plant and mechanisms of action.