Cannabis Health Insider

In new research, Dana Farber Cancer Institute and affiliate researchers have suggested a new way to treat pancreatic cancer. The research says that there can be a treatment for resistant pancreatic cancer with the help of a compound in marijuana. The compound is not CBD or THC. Instead, it is cannabis flavonoid.

Flavonoid is a chemical compound common in plants and fruits. It gives a vibrant color to the plant and has lots of health-related benefits.

Pancreatic cancer is a deadly form of cancer. In fact, it is the second major cause of cancer-related deaths. There are very low chances of survival. Only 20 percent of the patients survive for about a year and 8% for about 5 years. It is because pancreatic cancer cells have a greater capacity to develop resistance against treatment.

Pancreatic cancer is a very aggressive form of cancer also approaches other body parts within days. Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy. Surgery can only help at an initial stage diagnosis. Advanced stage cancer is usually defiant to these methods. There is a dire need for a treatment to improve both the quality and quantity of the patient’s life.

Investigations conducted at Dana Farber Cancer Institute

In an experiment, the researchers induced pancreatic cancer cell to rats in both vivo and vitro conditions. Later, they introduced them a cannabis flavonoid FBL_O3G. It is a flavonoid extracted from Cannflavin B found in Cannabis Sativa strain. They used the method of flash chromatography to extract it from the plant.

The investigators used the modern technique of smart radiotherapy biomaterials to inject the medicine.

They published online their findings in the journal Frontiers in Oncology. Mice which were not treated died in about 20 days. About 30 to 50% of the mice exposed to radiations and FBL_O3G survived for more than 40 days.

Also read- Chronic Cannabis Use and Liver Cancer

The measurements of the tumor through digital Vernier caliper, after treatment, showed a marked reduction in the size of the tumor. Cannabis flavonoid attacked both local and metastatic tumor cells. Moreover, it also reduced the number of cancer cells in other parts of the body.

What can these component do?

There is a great possibility that use of FBL_O3G can increase the life of expectancy patients and may treat pancreatic cancer.

The overall discussions about the healing quality of cannabis usually revolve around CBD and THC. Both of the cannabinoids work effectively with endocannabinoid mechanism found in the body.

Although the compound FBL_O3G has been extracted from the same source, it has some entirely different qualities. It is non-cannabinoid and non-psychoactive component. Unlike CBD and THC, it has nothing to do with the endocannabinoid receptor system of the body.

Cannabis flavonoid is found in very low concentration in a plant. To extract a considerable amount for experimentation is another hindrance for investigation. however, scientists are trying to synthesize it artificially in the laboratory.

The study’s authors strongly recommend the need for further research in this field. This way, their findings are applicable clinically to ease the life of patients by the end of the year 2020. It would require human involvement clinically for better verification of results.