Plant-Derived Cannabinoids as Potential Cancer Treatments: Targets and Mechanisms | Research

The takeaway

A comprehensive review mapped how phytocannabinoids interact with the endocannabinoid system to produce antitumor effects, highlighting CB2 receptors and endocannabinoid-degrading enzymes as drug targets that avoid psychoactive side effects.

Read this if you are interested in how cannabinoids might fight cancer without psychoactive effects.

CB2 receptors and FAAH/MAGL enzymes as non-psychoactive drug targets

What the researchers found

This review examined how plant-derived cannabinoids (phytocannabinoids) from both cannabis and non-cannabis plants interact with the endocannabinoid system to fight cancer.

The review focused on strategies to avoid psychoactive effects: targeting CB2 receptors (found primarily on immune cells rather than in the brain), inhibiting endocannabinoid-degrading enzymes (FAAH and MAGL), and using non-psychoactive cannabinoids. CB2-selective compounds and enzyme inhibitors showed antitumor activity in preclinical models without the cognitive effects of THC.

Phytocannabinoids from non-cannabis plants were also identified as promising candidates, including compounds that bind cannabinoid receptors and modulate endocannabinoid levels.

Why it matters

The main barrier to cannabinoid-based cancer treatment is psychoactive side effects from CB1 activation. This review mapped alternative strategies that could deliver antitumor effects without the high, potentially making cannabinoid cancer treatments clinically viable.

The numbers in context

Targets reviewed: CB1, CB2 receptors, FAAH enzyme, MAGL enzyme; non-cannabis plant sources of phytocannabinoids identified; preclinical efficacy across multiple cancer types

How the study worked

Comprehensive review of preclinical literature on phytocannabinoids as cancer therapeutics, focusing on mechanism of action through the endocannabinoid system, with emphasis on non-psychoactive strategies.

What this study cannot tell us

All evidence preclinical. Non-cannabis phytocannabinoids are less well-characterized than cannabis-derived compounds. The translation gap between preclinical antitumor effects and clinical cancer treatment remains substantial.

How to read the evidence

Comprehensive preclinical review identifying drug targets and mechanisms. No human clinical data for antitumor applications.

When this study was published

Published in 2015. Drug development targeting the endocannabinoid system in cancer has continued.

The bigger picture

The discovery that non-cannabis plants also produce compounds that interact with cannabinoid receptors expands the drug discovery pipeline beyond Cannabis sativa and may yield novel antitumor agents with better side effect profiles.

Questions still open

Which non-cannabis phytocannabinoids are most promising for cancer treatment? Can CB2-selective agents produce meaningful antitumor effects in human cancers? Would FAAH/MAGL inhibitors be safe for chronic use in cancer patients?

Common questions

Can cannabinoids treat cancer without getting you high?

This review identified strategies that could theoretically work: targeting CB2 receptors (immune system, not brain), using FAAH/MAGL enzyme inhibitors, or using non-psychoactive cannabinoids. However, none have been proven effective against cancer in humans.

Do other plants besides cannabis produce cannabinoids?

Yes. This review identified several non-cannabis plants that produce compounds capable of binding to cannabinoid receptors. These phytocannabinoids could serve as starting points for drug development with potentially different properties than cannabis-derived compounds.

Read the original research

Phytocannabinoids for Cancer Therapeutics: Recent Updates and Future Prospects.

Current medicinal chemistry, 22(30), 3472-501

View on PubMed ↗

Citation

Patil, K R; Goyal, S N; Sharma, C; Patil, C R; Ojha, S. (2015). Phytocannabinoids for Cancer Therapeutics: Recent Updates and Future Prospects.. Current medicinal chemistry, 22(30), 3472-501.