Gastric Cancer
Category
Cancer
REVIEWED BY
Our Biomedical Scientist
Reviewed based on
Literature Discussion
Last update
September 2020
What is Gastric Cancer
Gastric Cancer (also referred to as stomach cancer) typically develops in the mucus-producing cells that line the stomach.1
Symptoms
- Fatigue
- Being bloated after eating
- Feel full after small portions of food
- Persistent and severe heartburn
- Severe and persistent difficulty with digesting
- Unexplained and persistent nausea and vomiting
- Unintended weight loss
- Stomach pain
Cause
As other types of cancer, gastric cancer involves the growth of abnormal cells that contain mutations leading to uncontrollable cell division and growth. Similarly, it can spread and damage/destroy normal tissue.
It was observed that there is a link between a diet involving smoked and salted foods and gastric cancer. However, other risk factors such as smoking, family history, and long-term inflammation in the stomach may also play a role in the development of gastric cancer.1
The connection between Cannabinoids & Gastric Cancer
Studies find that CBD and THC may have great therapeutic potential and may be used to help treat Gastric Cancer. CBD and THC are well-known cannabinoids, however, they do not have the same psychoactive effects. THC is psychoactive while CBD does not possess psychoactive effects. According to WHO guidelines, the cannabidiol CBD is generally well tolerated with a good safety profile.
Preclinical data proposes that the cannabinoid THC may be beneficial in the treatment of Gastric Cancer if cannabinoid receptors found in stomach cancer cells are targeted.2
CBD has been shown to exhibit anticancer activities against several cancers (e.g. stimulated cell death in gastric cancer), proposing that CBD may be used as a potential candidate in the treatment of gastric cancer.3
The literature discussion is an overview of the published results from scientific studies investigating if and how cannabinoids can be beneficial in the treatment of Gastric Cancer. The overview will be updated regularly to ensure the newest and most accurate information.
Cannbinoids and cannabinoid receptors may be involved in controllong gastrointestinal processes
CB1 , CB2 , PPARa ‘] PPARa [/simple_tooltip], TRPV1, GPR119 and GPR55 receptors were found to be expressed in the gastrointestinal tract. Endocannabinoids such as anandamide, PEA , and OEA are biosynthesized in the gastrointestinal tract where they play a role in controlling several gastrointestinal processes through the binding of the endocannabinoid receptors.4,5,6
In rats, plant cannabinoids can also help in controlling the transit and motility of the gastrointestinal tract.7
Cannabinoids involved in metastasis and symptoms relief
It was shown that G Protein-Coupled Receptor 12 plays a role in the modulation of metastasis process in cancer cells and CBD functions as an inverse agonist for this receptor.8
It was shown that THC may help alleviate nausea and vomiting symptoms connected to gastric cancer.9
Cannabinoids receptors potential involvement in antiproliferative activity
It was shown that AEA addition to the human gastric cancer cell line, HGC-27, stimulated cell proliferation at lower AEA concentrations, while cell proliferation was strongly inhibited through the induction of apoptosis at higher concentrations. A combination of high doses of AEA with the anticancer drug Paclitaxel exhibited a synergistic effect on cell growth, reducing gastric cancer cell viability.10
In both animal models and in vitro assays of gastric cancer, synthetic CB1 agonist WIN 55, 212-2 was shown to exhibit antineoplastic and antiproliferative activity and has been suggested as an alternative to 5-Fluorouracil resistant gastric cancer cells.11,12,13,14,15
In an in vitro study, it was demonstrated that cannabinoid receptor agonists such as anandamide (AEA), (R)-(+)-methanandamide (Meth-AEA), and CP 55,940 (CP) showed similar effects in decreasing cell viability of gastric cancer cells, highlighting the therapeutic potential of these receptor agonists in gastric cancer cells.16
Clinical trials are research studies that examine new treatments and evaluate their effects on human health outcomes.
Today, we are not able to provide any clinical trials about cannabinoids and Gastric Cancer.
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/stomach-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20352438
- https://ghmedical.com/endocannabinoid-system/diseases/gastric-cancer
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41419-019-2001-7
- Borrelli, F., Izzo, A. A., (2009). ” Role of acylethanolamides in the gastrointestinal tract with special reference to food intake and energy balance. Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 23(1), 33-49”. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beem.2008.10.003
- Izzo, A. A., Et al., (2015). ” endocannabinoids and the Digestive Tract and Bladder in Health and Disease. En R. G. Pertwee (Ed.), endocannabinoids (pp. 423-447). Springer International Publishing”. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20825-1_15
- Taschler, U., Et al., (2016). ”Cannabinoid Receptors in Regulating the GI Tract: Experimental Evidence and Therapeutic Relevance. En Gastrointestinal Pharmacology (pp. 343-362). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/164_2016_105
- Shook J. E., Burks, T. F., (1989). “Psychoactive cannabinoids reduce gastrointestinal propulsion and motility in rodents. The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 249(2), 444-449”. https://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/249/2/444
- Brown, K. J., Et al., (2017). ”Cannabidiol, a novel inverse agonist for GPR12. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 493(1), 451-454”. https://www.jpsmjournal.com/article/S0885-3924(97)00229-7/pdf
- Gonzalez-Rosales, F., Walsh, D., (1997). “Intractable nausea and vomiting due to gastrointestinal mucosal metastases relieved by tetrahydrocannabinol (dronabinol). Journal of pain and Symptom Management, 14(5), 311-314. https://www.jpsmjournal.com/article/S0885-3924(97)00229-7/pdf
- Miyato et al., (2009). ” Pharmacological Synergism Between cannabinoids and Paclitaxel in Gastric cancer Cell Lines. Journal of Surgical Research, 155(1), 40-47”. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2008.06.045
- Oh, J.H., et al., (2013).” Antineoplastic Effect of WIN 55,212-2, a cannabinoid Agonist, in a Murine Xenograft Model of Gastric cancer. Chemotherapy, 59(3), 200-206. https://doi.org/10.1159/000355666
- Park, J. M., Et al., (2011). ” Antiproliferative mechanism of a cannabinoid agonist by cell cycle arrest in human gastric cancer cells. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry, 112(4), 1192-1205”. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcb.23041
- Xian, X., Et al., (2016). ” WIN 55,212-2 Inhibits the Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition of Gastric cancer Cells via COX-2 Signals. Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry, 39(6), 2149-2157. https://doi.org/10.1159/000447910
- Xian, X., Et al., (2010). ”Effect of a synthetic cannabinoidagonist on the proliferation and invasion of gastric cancerJournal of Cellular Biochemistry, 110(2), 321-332”. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcb.22540
- Xian, X., Et al., (2013). ”Cannabinoidreceptor agonist as an alternative drug in 5-fluorouracil-resistant gastric cancerAnticancer Research, 33(6), 2541-2547”. https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/33/6/2541
- Ortega et al., (2016). ”Comparing the effects of endogenous and synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists on survival of gastric cancer cells. Life Sciences, 165(Supplement C), 56-62” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0024320516305677?via%3Dihub
CANNABINOIDS & RECEPTORS
Below you find the plant cannabinoids, cannabinoid receptors, and endocannabinoids that are associated with the potential therapy.
- CBD
- THC
- CB1
- TRPV1
- GPR55,
- PPARa
- GPR119
- Anandamide
- OEA
- PEA
If you have any further information relevant to the connection between Gastric Cancer and cannabinoids or find any of the information inaccurate, outdated or incomplete please contact us here.
