Two commonly administered substances were today attributed with some new anti-cancer properties: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active constituent of cannabis, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid found in fish oil.

Reported in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, THC was shown to induce human glioma (brain cancer) cell death through a process known as autophagy, and did so by activating a particular stress response in the cells.

DHA, in an article soon to be published in Cell Division, was shown to reduce the size of tumours and enhance the positive effects of the chemotherapy drug Cisplatin. In particular, DHA strongly mitigated the toxic effect of Cisplatin on the kidneys while simultaneously increasing its effectiveness against cancer cells.

Of course, both substances – especially cannabinoids – have been attributed with anti-cancer properties for quite a while, but it’s always good to obtain further insight into the mechanisms by which these effects are exerted, particularly with cannabis, which is often difficult to research on account of its illegality in many parts of the world.

Anyhow, I’m cheered: at the rate I’m going, I don’t think I’ll ever get brain cancer