East Carolina University Prof Says CBD Molecules Cause Cancer Cells To Die

Cannabinoids like CBD were first identified in the cannabis plant. But experts now recognize that many of these same chemicals are produced naturally in the human body. They can also be synthetically produced in a lab, says Rukiyah Van Dross-Anderson, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine.

Van Dross-Anderson is studying the effect of cannabinoids on skin cancer cells. “These cannabinoid molecules have the ability to cause many different kinds of cancer cells to die,” she says. Specifically, certain cannabinoids seem to trigger a form of stress that kills cancer cells while sparing normal ones.

While her work is on a synthetic cannabinoid metabolite — a chemical compound that forms when a cannabinoid breaks down in the body — Van Dross-Anderson says CBD has also shown promise as a skin cancer therapy. “CBD is a great candidate for the treatment of some aggressive cancers, including melanoma,” she says. A lot more work is needed, but the promise is there.