Cannabis Voices

Dr Cristina Sánchez - cannabis, cancer and the endocannabinoid system

October 28, 2020 Dr Cristina Sánchez Episode 21
Cannabis Voices
Dr Cristina Sánchez - cannabis, cancer and the endocannabinoid system
Show Notes

Dr Cristina Sánchez, Vice Dean of Research at the School of Biology at the Complutense University in Madrid, is a world renowned molecular biologist specialising in the study of compounds in the cannabis plant as anticancer agents in breast cancer. 

Cristina has been involved in researching the antitumoral properties of cannabinoids for over twenty years, and played a key role in discovering how THC kills cancer cells while working alongside colleague Professor Manuel Guzmán.

These days, while many research groups around the world focussing on isolated or synthetic cannabinoids as potential anticancer drugs, Cristina's group stands out as trying to understand and replicate the experiences of actual patients who are reporting extraordinary results using whole plant cannabis for their cancer.

In her paper, 'Appraising the ''entourage effect'': Antitumor action of pure cannabinoid versus a botanical drug preparation in preclinical models of breast cancer,' Sánchez found that in mice at least and across all types of breast cancer, a whole plant cannabis extract was more efficacious and potent than THC alone. 

As Cristina says: "This is not a hippie fashion or energy from the plant. No, this is science. This is molecules activating and deactivating. So the same thing as for opioids or for any of the drugs that they use."

Resources:

Appraising the "entourage effect": Antitumor action of a pure cannabinoid versus a botanical drug preparation in preclinical models of breast cancer


Cannabinoids reduce ErbB2-driven breast cancer progression through Akt inhibition


Therapeutic targeting of HER2-CB 2 R heteromers in HER2-positive breast cancer

 

Activation of the orphan receptor GPR55 by lysophosphatidylinositol promotes metastasis in triple-negative breast cancer


Targeting CB2-GPR55 receptor heteromers modulates cancer cell signaling





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