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UK: Chilled-out chemotherapy

Tudor P Toma

The Scientist

Monday 06 Jan 2003

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Cannabinoids can inhibit non-melanoma skin tumor growth in vivo.

Cannabinoids - the active components of Cannabis sativa linnaeus
(marijuana) - have growth-inhibiting effects on gliomas, but their
potential for treating other tumors such as non-melanoma skin cancer,
has been unclear. In the January 1 Journal of Clinical Investigation,
Llanos Casanova and colleagues from Centro de Investigaciones
Energeticas, Medioambientales y Tecnologicas, Madrid, Spain, show that
activation of cannabinoid receptors inhibit skin tumor growth and
angiogenesis in vivo (Journal of Clinical Investigation, 111:43-50,
January 1, 2003).

Using nude mice, Casanova et al. injected the mixed CB1/CB2 agonist
WIN-55,212-2 or the selective CB2 agonist JWH-133 into the epidermis
adjacent to induced non-melanomic malignancies and observed a
considerable inhibition in tumor growth. Cannabinoid-treated tumors
showed an increased number of apoptotic cells, altered blood vessel
morphology and decreased expression of proangiogenic factors (VEGF,
placental growth factor, and angiopoietin 2). In addition, abrogation of
EGF-R function was also observed in cannabinoid-treated tumors.

"The present report, together with the implication of CB2- or CB2-like
receptors in the control of peripheral pain and inflammation, opens the
attractive possibility of finding cannabinoid-based therapeutic
strategies for diseases of the skin and other tissues devoid of
nondesired CB1-mediated psychotropic side effects," conclude the
authors.

Links for this article
I. Galve-Roperh et al., "Anti-tumoral action of cannabinoids:
involvement of sustained ceramide accumulation and extracellular
signal-regulated kinase activation," Nature Medicine, 6:313-319, 2000.
[PubMed Abstract]

B.L. Limmer, "Nonmelanoma skin cancer: today's epidemic," Texas
Medicine, 97:56-58, 2001.
[PubMed Abstract]

M.L. Casanova et al., "Inhibition of skin tumor growth and angiogenesis
in vivo by activation of cannabinoid receptors," Journal of Clinical
Investigation, 111:43-50, January 1, 2003.
http://www.jci.org/cgi/content/full/111/1/43?ijkey=1mHZx420NOAL6

Centro de Investigaciones Energeticas
http://www.ciemat.es/eng/index.html
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See http://www.biomedcentral.com/news/20030106/04/ for live links

 

 

 

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