Seminar

Cannabinoids, the PI3K pathway and cancer metabolism: seeking new anticancer approaches

Dr. Arkaitz Carracedo

Cancer is the consequence of an accumulation of genetic perturbations in specific cells and tissues, leading to unchecked growth and resistance to cell death. To date, the requirement of a compromise between anticancer potency and side-toxicity has represented a major obstacle in the development of efficient treatments to combat cancer. This is in part due to the common biology of normal and cancer cells and further complicated by the large biological and genetic variability from cancer to cancer. Hence, the identification of distinct "druggable" features of cancer cells is one of the major aims in cancer research today. From this viewpoint, the cannabinoid system, the PI3K pathway and cancer cell metabolism -- topics which I have pursued along my scientific career -- all share the peculiarity of being potential cancer-selective therapeutic approaches.