Herbs could be the cure to ovarian cancer!
When it comes to treating this disorder, existing drugs are often limited in effectiveness and can cause significant side effects, which leads researchers to search for new options.
So, they are exploring alternative drugs, including herbal-based strategies.
For instance, a research group from Khon Kaen University investigated the cannabis plant, which has been used to help relieve side effects of cancer treatments.
Namely, they focused on the individual and combined effects of two cannabis compounds on human ovarian cancer cell lines: cannabidiol (CBD), which is non-psychoactive, and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is responsible for cannabis’s psychoactive effects and “high” feeling.
In a recent study, published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, the same research group demonstrated that a combination of CBD and THC successfully killed a large proportion of ovarian cancer cells while sparing healthy cells in vitro.1
Their findings lay a foundation for alternative treatments of ovarian cancer.
To better understand the mechanisms behind these anti-cancer effects, the researchers examined key cell signaling pathways.
In ovarian cancer cells, the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway is often hyperactivated, regulated by phosphorylation, and contributes to tumor development.
When the team tested the CBD:THC combination on ovarian cancer cell lines, they observed reduced phosphorylation of proteins within the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.
They also detected an increase, or restoration, of a tumor-suppressor protein, which may further contribute to the dampened signaling activity.
“Although our study is still preliminary, it lays an important foundation for future research into the potential applications of CBD and THC in ovarian cancer treatment,” said study coauthor Siyao Tong in a press release.
