In Vitro Antiproliferative Effect of Cannabis Extract PHEC-66 on Melanoma Cell Lines

Ava Bachari; Nazim Nassar; Srinivasareddy Telukutla; Roby Zomer; Chaitali Dekiwadia; Terrence J Piva; Nitin Mantri

doi:10.3390/cells12202450

In Vitro Antiproliferative Effect of Cannabis Extract PHEC-66 on Melanoma Cell Lines

Cells. 2023 Oct 13;12(20):2450. doi: 10.3390/cells12202450.

Authors

Ava Bachari¹, Nazim Nassar^{2

3}, Srinivasareddy Telukutla¹, Roby Zomer⁴, Chaitali Dekiwadia⁵, Terrence J Piva², Nitin Mantri^{1

6}

Affiliations

¹ The Pangenomics Lab, School of Science, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia.
² School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, VIC 3083, Australia.
³ Faculty of Health, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, NT 0810, Australia.
⁴ MGC Pharmaceuticals Limited, West Perth, WA 6005, Australia.
⁵ RMIT Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility, STEM College, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.
⁶ UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.

Abstract

Melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer, can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated early. Melanoma is widely recognized to resist advanced cancer treatments, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, kinase inhibitors, and chemotherapy. Numerous studies have shown that various Cannabis sativa extracts exhibit potential anticancer effects against different types of tumours both in vitro and in vivo. This study is the first to report that PHEC-66, a Cannabis sativa extract, displays antiproliferative effects against MM418-C1, MM329 and MM96L melanoma cells. Although these findings suggest that PHEC-66 has promising potential as a pharmacotherapeutic agent for melanoma treatment, further research is necessary to evaluate its safety, efficacy, and clinical applications.

Keywords: C. sativa; PHEC-66; cannabinoids; melanoma; skin cancer.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cannabis*
Cell Line, Tumor
Melanoma* / drug therapy
Melanoma* / metabolism
Plant Extracts / pharmacology
Plant Extracts / therapeutic use

Substances

S-(1-phenyl-2-hydroxyethyl)cysteine
Plant Extracts

Grants and funding

This research was funded by MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Australia through grant number RE-03103. A.B. received Ph.D. scholarship from RMIT University, Australia.