In Episode 14 of Cannabis Voices I speak to Dr Wai Liu, Senior Research Fellow at St George's, University of London who after a chance conversation with an oncologist, came to specialise in studying the anticancer effects of the cannabis plant.
Not only has Dr Liu's work, which is so far preclinical, highlighted the exciting antitumoral effects of CBD and THC in particular, but is has shown how having an on/off sequence of cannabinoid treatment can increase the compounds' cancer cell killing effects.
Dr Liu and his colleagues have also found that depending on the type of cancer, the order of cannabinoids and chemotherapy/radiotherapy may vary in order to achieve maximum cancer cell death.
But perhaps the most fascinating insight we discuss, which still remains anecdotal, involves a number of cases where breast cancer patients have self-administered CBD oil in the weeks before starting their cancer treatment. In one striking example (which features in my book 'The CBD Book: The Essential Guide to CBD Oil'), a patient's tumour shrank by two thirds just by taking over the counter CBD oil. With the agreement of her oncology team and while her cancer remained stable, the patient could manage her breast cancer with CBD.
This podcast is required listening for anyone wanting to understand the anticancer potential of cannabis from a scientific perspective.
Resources:
Anticancer effects of phytocannabinoids used with chemotherapy in leukaemia cells can be improved by altering the sequence of their administration, Dr Wai Liu
Enhancing the activity of cannabidiol and other cannabinoids in vitro through modifications to drug combinations and treatment schedules, Dr Wai Liu
Report of Objective Clinical Responses of Cancer Patients to Pharmaceutical-grade Synthetic Cannabidiol, Julian Kenyon