For years many have been seeking and demanding alternatives to the traditional, aggressive treatments employed against malignant tumours. Thus, a range of researchers have been striving to find out what plants, and not only cannabis, may be effective against this harsh disease. The studies on these plants are very representative.

Many researchers have spent years studying the possible applications of certain medicinal plants against cancer. Although no cure has been found, some herbs are effective against the side effects of treatment, or at alleviating patients’ discomfort. In this regard cannabis is one of the most studied plants, with numerous scientific reports indicating how it can help to combat the disease.

In Spain, the Grupo de Señalización por Cannabinoides (Cannabinoid Signalling Group) at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid has been one of the most active in this area for the past 10 years with experts like Guillermo Velasco and Manuel Guzmán. In one of their studies (“Cannabinoid action induces autophagy-mediated cell death through stimulation of ER stress in human glioma cells”) these professionals found that cannabinoids can be used to help induce the remission of certain cancers.

Among other things, they cause tumorous cells to die, prevent them from becoming larger, and block the metastasis process. According to Velasco, the combination of THC and CBD has real potential against the disease, especially when dealing with breast, pancreas, prostate, lung and brain cancer. Given the importance of the findings, his work was published in the British Journal of Cancer.

In 2003 a study published in “The Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics” recognised that cannabinoids featured tumour-fighting properties. Six researchers examined the effect that cannabidiol (a non-psychoactive cannabinoid compound) had on cerebral tumours.

There were able to verify that this compound, in a period of 23 days, weakened harmful cells found in the tissues of the affected organ, and caused them to shrink. In light of this fact, they concluded that their findings could contribute to the creation of future treatments based on CBD. In addition, they decided that the interest shown by many research centres in cannabis was understandable, since the product has been used in medicine “for many centuries” (even though modern pharmacists have sought to block it).

In 2006 the Swedish Research Council and the Cancer Society in Stockholm supported a study to analyse how some components of cannabis could act against blood cancer, and demonstrated that cannabinoids contribute to cellular death in leukaemia. They also found that they could selectively suppress cancerous cells in skin.

In several studies from 2006 and 2008 it was confirmed that some components of marijuana altered the normal course of blood cancer. In the first it was explained that THC modifies the normal state of some components of the blood, and even resulted in the induced death of its cells, which confirmed the findings of the Swedish study. The second found that, after using synthetic cannabinoids in some experiments with mice, a significant reduction of the affected cells was confirmed.

In 2008 the prestigious magazine Nature published a study carried out by members of specialised centres in Israel and at the Harvard School of Medicine. They demonstrated that THC inhibits the growth of lung tumours and acts against the metastasis produced by them, at least in certain animals. Also having investigated lung cancer and cannabis is the German Institute of Toxicology and Pharmacology, which confirmed that same year, through a human patient, that cannabinoids avert the growth of any type of malignant cell.

Another study from 2012 was published in “The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics”. Researchers at the Pacific Medical Center in California, in their search for a solution to deal with metastasis, realised that the cannabidiol in marijuana also stops breast cancer in human beings, preventing the proliferation of sick cells. They also demonstrated that this compound could reduce tumours in breasts, and could serve to create products with which to treat metastasis caused by this type of tumour.

More recently, in 2013, research supported by the British Society of Pharmacology concluded that CBD is effective against prostate carcinoma. Nine Italian professionals used pure cannabinoids and extracts of certain strains on cells of this organ, many of which were rendered inoperative in their experiments by cannabidiol's effects.

They confirmed that malignant tumours of this type can be reduced in size and stopped thanks to this plant. Several studies from 2003 and 2012 already suggested this idea. In the same way, other studies have demonstrated the powerful effect of marijuana's components on pancreatic tumours and those in the liver, both carried out by Spanish researchers.

Despite the representativeness of cannabis, other types of plants are also potentially effective against certain types of cancer, although they do not stop them or reduce them. In 2014, the Federal University of Paraíba, in Brazil, published a study on herbs that could help to treat lung tumours. The aim was to look for alternatives to the traditional treatments, which have serious side effects on patients. Those behind the study believed that natural products could help to eliminate other toxic elements from the body and improve the areas affected by tumours.

Among other things, they had experimented with plants of the genus Vinca and herbal teas from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The compounds obtained from some of them can also be used to directly attack tumours.

In 2014 another study explained how medicinal plants and trees had been used to treat cancer in a region of Kenya. The team detected 65 varieties that seemed to be yielding good results in local therapies there. Among them were leaves from the Prunus africana tree and the species microglossa pyrifolia, which were treated and administered orally to many patients, and also topically in the case of breast cancer.

As is clear to see, many plants, including marijuana, could become alternatives to traditional, aggressive anti-cancer treatments. This is what numerous scientific and medical experiments and doctors are demonstrating, supported and financed by important institutions worldwide. There is no doubt that cannabis is the future in the fight against cancer, and that its components could be key to new and powerful medicines.