also overexpressed in a number of other tumor types including prostate, breast, and

oral cancer; anandamide might also be effective in other cancers.

All these findings suggest that cannabinoids can increase the sensitivity of cancer

cells to chemotherapy. Studies on glioma, leukemia, and gastric, breast, and colo-

rectal cancer provide supporting evidences in favor of cannabinoids and their

benefits in overcoming resistance. Additionally, co-administration of cannabinoid-

based drugs could be a great strategy in order to enhance the sensitivity of cancer

cells toward anticancer drugs. These results demonstrated that there is an association

between cannabinoids and resistance toward anticancer drugs which are required to

be explored more (Fig. 12.4).

12.6

Concluding Remarks

Considering the multifaceted action of cannabinoid receptors in different pathophys-

iological conditions, it is not surprising that endocannabinoid signaling plays an

important role in cancer-causing pathways. In this chapter, we have tried to

summarized the role of ECS in various cancers. Recent literature implicated

immense potential of cannabinoid system modulators in many diseases. In cancer,

cannabinoid receptor ligands may emerge as a prospective clinical regimen having

already proven efficacy in the inhibition of cancer cell proliferation. Interestingly,

cannabinoids have the potential to be an effective therapeutic in chemotherapy-

resistant cancers. Therefore, these agents may serve as an excellent add-on therapy

for the treatment of drug-resistant cancers. In view of these points, necessity of

alternative drug might be fulfilled by cannabinoids simultaneously overcoming

limitations of conventional therapies.

Currently, many pharmaceutical companies are favoring more extensive research

on cannabinoids and related pathways by developing novel potent synthetic

Fig. 12.4 Cannabinoid-mediated inhibition of chemotherapy resistance in different cancers

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S. Singh et al.