Herbs Could Be the Cure for Ovarian Cancer!
When it comes to treating this disorder, existing medications often have limited effectiveness and can cause significant side effects, leading researchers to look for new options.
They are therefore exploring alternative medicines, including herbal strategies.
For example, a research group at Khon Kaen University studied the cannabis plant, which is used to help relieve the side effects of cancer treatments.
In particular, 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 the psychoactive effects and high sensation of cannabis.
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 the foundation for alternative treatments for ovarian cancer.
To better understand the mechanisms behind these anticancer effects, researchers examined the main cellular 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 attenuated 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 the treatment of ovarian cancer,” study co-author Siyao Tong said in a press release.
