CBD shows antitumor activity in human pancreatic tumor cells

This study focused on determining the anticancer activity of a specific CBD-dominant cannabis extract on human pancreatic tumor cell lines, and was published in the journal Molecules in February 2022.

CBD was found to be the primary molecule responsible for inducing apoptosis [cell suicide] in the human pancreatic cancer cell line. The authors stated that CBD-rich cannabis strains are "attractive for therapeutic applications".

The study found that CBD triggers a cell signaling sequence that leads to programmed cell death that gemcitabine (a gold standard drug in the treatment of pancreatic cancer), does not. Gemcitabine only triggers cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 cell cycles, which CBD also does.

"Our results emphasize the potential of natural products issued from medicinal hemp for pancreatic cancer therapy, as they lead to an accumulation of intracellular superoxide ions, affect the mitochondrial membrane potential, induce G1 cell cycle arrest, and ultimately drive the pancreatic cancer cell to lethal apoptosis."

The full-text article is here at the Molecules website.