Adding cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound in cannabis, to standard chemotherapy led to a 3-fold increase in survival rates in mice with pancreatic cancer.

The effects of CBD alone were similar to standard chemotherapy alone. In contrast, when CBD was used in combination with chemotherapy, this led to a nearly three-fold extension of mice survival.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is an aggressive type of cancer with the one-year survival rate at 19% and five-year survival at about 5%.

The hope is to reproduce these findings in humans which may lead to a more effective cancer treatment.