Gliomas constitute the most frequent and malignant primary brain tumors. Current standard
therapeutic strategies (surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapeutics, e.g., temozolomide,
carmustin or carboplatin) for their treatment are only palliative and survival diagnosis is
normally 6–12 months. The development of new therapeutic strategies for the management
of gliomas is therefore essential. Interestingly, cannabinoids have been shown to exert
antiproliferative effects on a wide spectrum of cells in culture. Of interest, cannabinoids have
displayed a great potency in reducing glioma tumor growth either in vitro or in animal
experimental models, curbing the growth of xenografts generated by subcutaneous or
intratecal injection of glioma cells in immune-deficient mice. Moreover, cannabinoids appear
to be selective antitumoral agents as they kill glioma cells without affecting the viability of
nontransformed counterparts. A pilot clinical trial on patients with glioblastoma multiforme
demonstrated their good safety profile together and remarkable antitumor effects, and may
set the basis for further studies aimed at better evaluating the potential anticancer activity of
cannabinoids.
