(Photo credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Australian researchers to study marijuana for treatment of melanoma.
Researchers at the University of Canberra (UC) in Australia have announced a new research project aimed at producing a novel cannabis-based combination therapy treatment for melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer.The University signed a $1 million deal with international medical cannabis producer Cann Pharmaceutical to provide medical-grade cannabis for clinical trials on melanoma patients, according to a release.
UC professor of molecular and cellular biology Sudha Rao will lead the two-year research project.
Professor Rao’s team within the University’s Health Research Institute, is already heading innovative research into aggressive cancers, such as breast cancer and developing treatments to switch off cancer stem cells and prevent cancer recurrence.Rao says UC’s planned clinical trials will help shed light on the efficacy of medical marijuana for melanoma treatment.
Existing research suggests several compounds in marijuana have the ability to ”switch off” uncontrolled skin cell growth, a major factor in the development and progression of skin cancer.
A September 2013 study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology shows cannabidiol (CBD), in particular, may hold great promise for the development of novel therapies for skin cancer.
“Australians have the highest rate of melanoma in the world, with estimates of more than 13,000 new cases to be diagnosed in 2016 alone,” Rao said. “When you consider that melanoma is the third most common cancer in Australia and New Zealand, and almost 1,800 people will die as a result of this cancer this year, we need to work harder at finding effective treatments.”
Medical cannabis will be administered to melanoma patients along with standard chemotherapy. Scientists will closely monitor how melanoma stem cells respond to cannabis treatment. Clinical trials are expected to begin in 2017.
No comments:
Post a Comment