Marijuana Extract Can Kill Melanoma Cells, New Study Reveals Possible Treatment For Skin Cancer
A new study indicates cannabis has the potential to treat melanoma, a skin cancer beginning in the melanocyte cells, which make the pigment that gives skin its color.
Melanoma typically results from over-exposure to the sun. While skin cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States, melanoma accounts for only about 1%, yet causes a large majority of skin cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society.
New research published in a peer-reviewed Cell Journal conducted by scientists from Charles Darwin University (CDU) and RMIT University offers hope for the creation of a natural treatment for melanoma.
The study, part of a Ph.D. project by RMIT’s Dr. Ava Bachari, showed that a specific cannabis extract (PHEX-66) from the cannabis sativa plant binds to receptor sites on particular melanoma cells, controlling its growth at two key phases and increasing the amount of damage to these cells.
Dr. Nazim Nassar, the study co-author and CDU pharmaceutical lecturer said this damage practically tricks cells into killing itself, writes Mirage News. This inhibitory effect arises from …