ER2 positive proteins may produce a compound with CB2 receptors which raise the deadliness of breast cancer. THC may stop that from occurring and full-spectrum CBD oils contain also THC. Breast cancer is an intricate disorder with many different molecular markers, multiple therapies, and variant prognoses. Recently, therapies have improved to the point that a tumor might be treatable less than a decade ago would have been untreatable. However, some treatments work better than others.
Further, some cancer types are somewhat different than many others. By way of instance, there is a subtype of breast cancer that’s characterized by the overexpression of the human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2). It represents 15-20percent of breast tumors and patients using this saying are believed to be HER2 positive.
What Does it Mean to be HER2 Positive?
HER2-positive cancers are cancers that increase by increasing the activity and amount of proteins that control cell proliferation. Current HER2 breast cancer treatments work by targeting this overexpression of HER2. Luckily, Trastuzumab, a recombinant humanized monoclonal anti-HER2 antibody, significantly improves outcomes for patients. But, despite its efficacy in several HER2 positive breast cancer cases, some patients don’t respond to the treatment in any way. Others eventually develop immunity to the drug. Therefore, physicians need another treatment to tackle this growing problem in prostate cancer patients.
Anti-Tumor Action of Cannabinoids produce anti-tumor responses in preclinical models of cancer, including HER2 positive breast cancer. In most cases, the anti-tumor responses are a result of the binding and triggering of cannabinoid receptors, CB1- and CB2 receptors. Preclinical study to HER2 positive tumors discovers that CB2 is the main goal for anti-tumor treatment.
A potential clue for the mechanics of turning HER2 on and off involves the formation of the double protein molecule, referred to as a heterodimer. Science doesn’t yet understand the operational relevance of the heterodimers. But some scientists think that the greater the expression of the heterodimers (HER2-CB2R), the less positive the patient outcome.
Research also discovered a higher expression of heterodimers in the tissue of the principal HER2 positive tumors.
Study Determines THC Could Target Heterodimers.
A 2019 analysis was conducted in vitro, assessing several different HER2 positive breast cancer cell lines. Researchers understand that CB2 receptor activation in models of HER2+ breast cancer causes cancer cell death. Scientists call the mechanism which leads to the is “apoptosis.”
HER2 positive cell lines were treated with THC so as to test the hypothesis. The results showed that THC definitely decreased the viability of the cancer cell lines in a concentration dependent way. THC therapy diminished the quantity of CB2R that combined with HER2, which points to the cannabinoid-induced disruption of the heterodimer. Data demonstrates that THC decreases the volume of these heterodimer complexes by activating the CB2 receptors. The findings conclude that THC interrupts HER2-CB2R heterodimers. Further, it cubes HER2 activation, and then also promotes its degradation. All this adds up to a significant anti-tumor reaction.
Showing A Potential New Mechanism For Anti-Tumor Treatments.
To summarize, this study indicates a mechanism controlling the activity of the HER2 that may represent a new goal for anti-tumor remedies. This interaction makes a CB2-HER2 heterodimer, which associates with poor outcomes for HER2 positive patients. THC inactivates that this coupling procedure and degrades HER2, thus boosting anti-tumor action.
It is important to be aware that this is in vitro research. This usually means that the researchers took cells of a specific form and exposed them to a specific type of cannabis. It does not necessarily mean, say, consuming cannabis in an ordinary manner like smoking or edibles has any inherent anti-tumor activity. Because of this, it is likely that additional cell types could relate to the procedure. For example, immune cells, and endothelial cells, also express CB2 receptors. For this reason, it’s reasonable to think that THC might also affect them. It would be interesting to see whether the preclinical data can encourage the results demonstrated in this research.
Finally, this is an exciting time to be a patient. More and more changes are making cancer more and more survivable. Shortly a day can come when cannabis medicine is involved in these changes.