Can we grow the treatments of tomorrow? – That Cancer Conversation podcast

From malaria to multiple sclerosis, plants have given us compounds which help treat countless conditions. But could a tree growing on your street hold the next life-changing drug?

From Madagascar to Kew Gardens in London, we explore how scientists across the globe use indigenous knowledge and pharmaceutical science to help develop the treatments of tomorrow.

And in a world-first, a cannabis-derived drug, known as Sativex, is being trialled in combination with chemotherapy to see if it could be used to help people with a certain type of aggressive brain cancer.

• The botanical history of medicine (2:04)
• How do we find the plant medicines of tomorrow? (6:10)
• The search for a chemical needle in a botanical haystack (9:09)
• Making drugs: converting cuttings into capsules (14:02)
• Is it more complex than putting a leaf in a pill? (18:28)
• Sativex: trialling a cannabis-derived spray on brain cancer (22:50)
• Do we know how cannabinoids work on these cells? (26:51)
• Cannabis and cancer: it’s not that simple (28:43)

ARISTOCRAT is a randomised phase II study of temozolomide with or without cannabinoids in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

The trial is being funded by The Brain Tumour Charity and co-ordinated by the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit at the University of Birmingham.

ARISTOCRAT is due to begin recruiting just over 230 patients across all UK nations in early 2022.

To learn more about the ARISTOCRAT trial (as well as cannabis and cancer), you can check out:

• World-first trial tests cannabis-based drug on aggressive brain tumours – University of Leeds
• Glioblastoma Research: Phase II Clinical Trial of Cannabis Derivatives – The Brain Tumour Charity
• Cannabis, cannabinoids and cancer – the evidence so far – Cancer Research UK

If you’d like to talk to someone, our nurses are available Monday to Friday 9-5pm on freephone 0808 800 4040.

Read the transcript