Findings from a study conducted by Prof. Marco Falasca from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) in the United Kingdom and team on a mouse model of pancreatic cancer, which they injected with cannabidiol (CBD), naturally occurring cannabis along with a classic chemotherapy drug, Gemcitabine, revealed that the rodents lived almost three times more than mice from a control group, which had been treated with Gemcitabine only.

"This is a remarkable result," says Prof. Falasca, adding, "We found that mice with pancreatic cancer survived nearly three times longer if a constituent of medicinal cannabis was added to their chemotherapy treatment."

These results are highly encouraging for the researchers, who wish that, now that CBD is considered safe, they will soon be able to utilize it in clinical trials trying this combination treatment in humans.

"Cannabidiol is already approved for use in clinics, which means we can quickly go on to test this in human clinical trials," says Prof. Falasca. "If we can reproduce these effects in humans, cannabidiol could be in use in cancer clinics almost immediately, compared to having to wait for authorities to approve a new drug."

The researchers also remark that earlier studies prove that CBD can reduce symptoms linked to chemotherapy treatments, including nausea, pain, and vomiting.

If CBD proves effective in increasing survival rates for individuals undergoing chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer in future clinical trials, it could also suggest that the cannabis compound will help to bring down some of the treatment's side effects.