{"title":"Cannabidiol (CBD) as a potential therapeutic agent for liver cancer: a comprehensive review of current evidence.","authors":"Mojtaba Esmaeli, Maryam Dehghanpour Dehabadi","doi":"10.1186/s12935-025-03870-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer-related mortality with limited treatment options. Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound from Cannabis sativa, has shown anticancer properties. This review analyzes CBD's therapeutic potential in HCC, focusing on mechanisms, preclinical/clinical findings, and integration into treatment strategies. A systematic search (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar) up to March 2025 identified 16 relevant studies (in vitro, in vivo, clinical). CBD exerts antitumor effects via multiple pathways, including apoptosis, autophagy regulation, metastasis suppression, and tumor microenvironment modulation. CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system (ECS), inhibits oncogenic signaling (PI3K/AKT/mTOR), and enhances chemotherapeutic efficacy (sorafenib, cabozantinib). Studies show CBD induces pyroptosis via caspase-3/GSDME, and modulates autophagy by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. It also sensitizes HCC cells to sorafenib and cabozantinib. Preclinical results are promising, but clinical studies are limited. Challenges like bioavailability and potential hepatotoxicity require investigation. Future research should optimize formulations, determine dosing, and conduct clinical trials to validate CBD's efficacy/safety in HCC patients. Validated CBD could offer an innovative HCC management option.</p>","PeriodicalId":9385,"journal":{"name":"Cancer Cell International","volume":"25 1","pages":"215"},"PeriodicalIF":5.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Cancer Cell International","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12935-025-03870-3","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ONCOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major cause of cancer-related mortality with limited treatment options. Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound from Cannabis sativa, has shown anticancer properties. This review analyzes CBD's therapeutic potential in HCC, focusing on mechanisms, preclinical/clinical findings, and integration into treatment strategies. A systematic search (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar) up to March 2025 identified 16 relevant studies (in vitro, in vivo, clinical). CBD exerts antitumor effects via multiple pathways, including apoptosis, autophagy regulation, metastasis suppression, and tumor microenvironment modulation. CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system (ECS), inhibits oncogenic signaling (PI3K/AKT/mTOR), and enhances chemotherapeutic efficacy (sorafenib, cabozantinib). Studies show CBD induces pyroptosis via caspase-3/GSDME, and modulates autophagy by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. It also sensitizes HCC cells to sorafenib and cabozantinib. Preclinical results are promising, but clinical studies are limited. Challenges like bioavailability and potential hepatotoxicity require investigation. Future research should optimize formulations, determine dosing, and conduct clinical trials to validate CBD's efficacy/safety in HCC patients. Validated CBD could offer an innovative HCC management option.
肝细胞癌(HCC)是癌症相关死亡的主要原因,治疗选择有限。大麻二酚(CBD)是一种从大麻中提取的非精神活性化合物,具有抗癌特性。这篇综述分析了CBD在HCC中的治疗潜力,重点是机制、临床前/临床发现以及与治疗策略的结合。系统检索(PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, b谷歌Scholar)到2025年3月确定了16项相关研究(体外,体内,临床)。CBD通过多种途径发挥抗肿瘤作用,包括细胞凋亡、调节自噬、抑制转移、调节肿瘤微环境等。CBD与内源性大麻素系统(ECS)相互作用,抑制致癌信号(PI3K/AKT/mTOR),并提高化疗疗效(索拉非尼,卡博赞替尼)。研究表明,CBD通过caspase-3/GSDME诱导凋亡,并通过抑制PI3K/Akt/mTOR通路调节自噬。它也使HCC细胞对索拉非尼和卡博赞替尼敏感。临床前结果很有希望,但临床研究有限。生物利用度和潜在肝毒性等挑战需要调查。未来的研究应优化配方,确定剂量,并进行临床试验,以验证CBD在HCC患者中的有效性/安全性。经过验证的CBD可以提供一种创新的HCC治疗选择。
期刊介绍:
Cancer Cell International publishes articles on all aspects of cancer cell biology, originating largely from, but not limited to, work using cell culture techniques.
The journal focuses on novel cancer studies reporting data from biological experiments performed on cells grown in vitro, in two- or three-dimensional systems, and/or in vivo (animal experiments). These types of experiments have provided crucial data in many fields, from cell proliferation and transformation, to epithelial-mesenchymal interaction, to apoptosis, and host immune response to tumors.
Cancer Cell International also considers articles that focus on novel technologies or novel pathways in molecular analysis and on epidemiological studies that may affect patient care, as well as articles reporting translational cancer research studies where in vitro discoveries are bridged to the clinic. As such, the journal is interested in laboratory and animal studies reporting on novel biomarkers of tumor progression and response to therapy and on their applicability to human cancers.