A compound found in cannabis may prove to be effective at helping stop the spread of breast cancer cells throughout the body. The study, by scientists at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, is raising hope that CBD, a compound found in Cannabis sativa, could be the first non-toxic agent to show promise in treating metastatic forms of breast cancer. ‘Right now we have a limited range of options in treating aggressive forms of cancer,’ says Sean D. McAllister, Ph.D., a cancer researcher at CPMCRI and the lead author of the study. ‘Those treatments, such as chemotherapy, can be effective but they can also be extremely toxic and difficult for patients. This compound offers the hope of a non-toxic therapy that could achieve the same results without any of the painful side effects.’ The researchers used CBD to inhibit the activity of a gene called Id-1, which is believed to be responsible for the aggressive spread of cancer cells throughout the body, away from the original tumor site. ‘We know that Id-1 is a key regulator of the spread of breast cancer,’ says Pierre-Yves Desprez, Ph.D., a cancer researcher at CPMCRI and the senior author […]