Preclinical and Clinical Assessment of Cannabinoids as Anti-Cancer Agents
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Ladin, Daniel
Soliman, Eman
Griffin, LaToya
Van Dross, Rukiyah
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Abstract
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States with 1.7 million
new cases estimated to be diagnosed in 2016. This disease remains a formidable
clinical challenge and represents a substantial financial burden to the US health care
system. Therefore, research and development of novel therapeutics for the treatment
of cancer is of high priority. Cannabinoids and their derivatives have been utilized for
their medicinal and therapeutic properties throughout history. Cannabinoid activity is
regulated by the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is comprised of cannabinoid
receptors, transporters, and enzymes involved in cannabinoid synthesis and breakdown.
More recently, cannabinoids have gained special attention for their role in cancer cell
proliferation and death. However, many studies investigated these effects using in vitro
models which may not adequately mimic tumor growth and metastasis. As such, this
article aims to review study results which evaluated effects of cannabinoids from plant,
synthetic and endogenous origins on cancer development in preclinical animal models
and to examine the current standing of cannabinoids that are being tested in human
cancer patients.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2016.00361