Media Health Issue

The main chemical in the marijuana (cannabis sativa) appears to help the destruction of the cells related to the brain cancer, offering a hope for the future cancer therapies, according to Spanish investigators.

The authors belong to the Universidad Completeness in Madrid, in collaboration with scientists from other universities; found that the active component of marijuana, the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), leads to the cancer cells to undergo a process called autofagia or the break that occurs when the cell is self-digested.

The investigation, which appears in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the United States, shows that the THC and “cannabinoids” seem to be “a new family of the possible anti-tumor agents”.

The authors wrote that the chemical may prove useful in the future development of new “anti-tumor agents”.

The scientists conducted their investigations in laboratory animals, in the first place stimulated the growth of cancer in animals and then applied the injection of a daily dose of THC, near the place of were the tumors.

The researchers also analyzed the tumors of two patients in a pilot testing, assessing the effects of THC in a very aggressive on the brain tumor and the results were immediately published in line with the evidence preclinical, observed for the first time in laboratory animals.