This variability may lead to decreased effectiveness or increased side effects among users of marijuana. In addition, respiratory complications such as chronic bronchitis could develop as a side effect of THC.
As with any medicine, marijuana may amplify side effects of other medications. It is important that you discuss the use of medicines and supplements with your physician and ask about potential side effects or interactions. Although states have passed laws permitting the use of medical marijuana, under federal law, marijuana continues to be an illegal Schedule I drug, meaning that it is considered to have a high potential for abuse and is not recognized for medicinal use.
Because of this, marijuana cannot be used in hospital settings or dispensed at licensed pharmacies. Insurance companies do not cover the cost of medical marijuana, but most will cover the use of the pharmaceutical dronabinol, which contains the active component THC. Aside from anecdotal reports, very little medical evidence is available to support the use of medical marijuana.
Only a small number of controlled studies have examined the benefits and risks of marijuana use. At this time, it is difficult to make a medical judgement regarding the use of medical marijuana with so little evidentiary details on which to base it.
Regulation of medical marijuana possession and use varies from state to state. Ultimately, medical decision-making is shared between individual patients and their physicians. It is up to you and your physician to determine and comply with all state and federal regulations. Learn more about pain management therapies being used as alternatives to opioids. Make a difference in the fight against cancer by donating to cancer research.
But the effects of cannabinoids on cancer are not limited to interaction with these receptors as several studies have documented effects that are not prevented by blocking these receptors. THC is the cannabinoid classically associated with the psychoactive and appetite-stimulating effects, although it is not exclusively so.
Cannabidiol is another cannabinoid that also has been studied for anti-cancer effects and is often referred to as CBD. The FDA has approved several drugs that we will call cannabinoid-based i.
As of June 25, , the FDA approved Epidiolex cannabidiol naturally derived from cannabis for two rare and severe forms of epilepsy, marking the first time a non-synthetic cannabinoid has been approved in the United States. However, the first regulatory approval for a naturally-derived cannabis product in North America was given by Health Canada for nabiximols Sativex for symptomatic relief of neuropathic pain and muscle spasticity from multiple sclerosis.
Nabiximols is a formulated extract of C. Terpenoids and flavonoids are responsible for the color and aroma of plants and also serve biological functions.
Relative to cannabinoids, these two categories of chemicals are not as well researched for their effects on cancer and will be omitted for brevity except when we discuss the entourage effect at the end of this blog. Regarding anecdotal evidence and yes, I count anecdotal evidence as evidence, just not of very high quality if it is not reliably reproduced in others for anti-cancer effects of cannabis, the case that is most often brought up by my patients is that of Rick Simpson.
From the information that is available on the internet, Rick was diagnosed with several basal cell carcinomas of the skin not metastatic and based on preclinical studies decided to treat his skin cancer topically with a concentrated cannabis oil and left a bandage on the lesions for several days.
The lesions disappeared. But to extrapolate from this case and the preclinical evidence that cannabis oil is a suppressed cure for all types and stages of cancer is, at best, an innocent inference educated guess and, at worst, a delusion that has gone viral on the internet and is endangering the lives of patients with curable cancer who might choose to take cannabis oil in lieu of conventional therapy without any scientific follow up with imaging or surgery.
To date, we only have two prospective clinical trials where a cannabis preparation or its derivatives was tested for an anti-cancer effect. Guzman et al conducted a phase I preliminary trial to establish safety of the new intervention and showed that intracranial administration of THC into an aggressive brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme had antiproliferative effects in some of the 9 patients who received it, but all patients eventually progressed and died though not due to the THC.
Only 20 patients were intended to be enrolled in the randomized part of the study. Safety not tumor response was the primary objective, so these results are not reliable to make any definitive conclusions.
Also requiring caution is that the study randomized 12 to THC:CBD and only 9 to placebo without any explanation of the discrepancy between study arms. In a small study like this, one patient can radically change the significance of the results. The combination of nabiximols with temozolomide appears to be safe, but a larger phase II study is indicated. Likewise, the extract was synergistic with tamoxifen, lapatinib and cisplatin chemotherapy in those respective cancer types. The authors also identified that the enhanced potency of the extract did not appear to be due to the 5 most abundant terpenes in the extract, consistent with the theory that the potency was due to the cannabinoid content.
Does this study mean all patients with breast cancer should be taking cannabis extracts? That said, this study and additional ones provide reassuring data for patients with cancer who choose to integrate cannabis with their conventional treatment to reduce side effects from cancer treatment. For example, numerous preclinical studies have tested whether there would be antagonism or synergy combining cannabinoids with chemotherapy agents. Briefly, in studies on cell cultures of pancreatic, glioma, gastric, lung and colon cancers using gemcitabine, temozolomide, paclitaxel and 5 fluorouracil, synergy is the common theme reviewed by Maida et al.
While no studies to date have shown that CBD eases these side effects specifically in people with cancer or people receiving cancer treatment, some people with cancer have reported benefits in taking CBD, such as helping with nausea, vomiting, depression , and other side effects.
According to ASCO guidelines , your doctor may consider prescribing cannabinoids for chronic pain management if you live in a state where it is legal. However, ASCO guidelines state that there is not enough evidence to support the use of cannabinoids for preventing nausea and vomiting in people with cancer receiving radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
There are 2 synthetic cannabis medications, nabilone Cesamet and dronabinol Marinol or Syndros , that are FDA-approved to treat nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy. These medications are made in a laboratory. You may find stories online of people discussing the benefits of CBD as a cancer treatment or as relief for side effects. Please remember that such personal stories, while they may be well-meaning, are shared without scientific study and do not constitute evidence.
The safety and efficacy of CBD for people with cancer still has to be proven in large, randomized, controlled clinical trials. It is also important to note that some studies have shown that CBD might interfere with how your body processes cancer drugs, called a drug interaction.
This might make cancer treatments more toxic or make them less effective. More research is needed on these effects, too. You may also be wondering if CBD is legal in your area. Others have stricter regulations, so state-by-state laws should always be learned before transporting CBD across state lines.
Things are more complicated at the federal level. General information about clinical trials is also available. The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries come in two versions. The health professional versions have detailed information written in technical language.
The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions have cancer information that is accurate and up to date and most versions are also available in Spanish.
The PDQ summaries are based on an independent review of the medical literature. This PDQ cancer information summary has current information about the use of Cannabis and cannabinoids in the treatment of people with cancer.
It is meant to inform and help patients, families, and caregivers. It does not give formal guidelines or recommendations for making decisions about health care. Editorial Boards write the PDQ cancer information summaries and keep them up to date.
These Boards are made up of experts in cancer treatment and other specialties related to cancer. The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made when there is new information. The date on each summary "Updated" is the date of the most recent change. The information in this patient summary was taken from the health professional version, which is reviewed regularly and updated as needed, by the PDQ Integrative, Alternative, and Complementary Therapies Editorial Board.
A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients. During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works. If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard.
Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment. Clinical trials can be found online at NCI's website. PDQ is a registered trademark. The content of PDQ documents can be used freely as text. It cannot be identified as an NCI PDQ cancer information summary unless the whole summary is shown and it is updated regularly.
PDQ Cannabis and Cannabinoids. If you want to use an image from a PDQ summary and you are not using the whole summary, you must get permission from the owner. It cannot be given by the National Cancer Institute. Information about using the images in this summary, along with many other images related to cancer can be found in Visuals Online. Visuals Online is a collection of more than 3, scientific images.
The information in these summaries should not be used to make decisions about insurance reimbursement. More information on insurance coverage is available on Cancer. More information about contacting us or receiving help with the Cancer. Questions can also be submitted to Cancer. Complementary and alternative medicine CAM —also called integrative medicine—includes a broad range of healing philosophies, approaches, and therapies.
A therapy is generally called complementary when it is used in addition to conventional treatments; it is often called alternative when it is used instead of conventional treatment. Conventional treatments are those that are widely accepted and practiced by the mainstream medical community. Depending on how they are used, some therapies can be considered either complementary or alternative. Complementary and alternative therapies are used in an effort to prevent illness, reduce stress, prevent or reduce side effects and symptoms, or control or cure disease.
Unlike conventional treatments for cancer, complementary and alternative therapies are often not covered by insurance companies. Patients should check with their insurance provider to find out about coverage for complementary and alternative therapies.
Cancer patients considering complementary and alternative therapies should discuss this decision with their doctor, nurse, or pharmacist as they would any type of treatment. Some complementary and alternative therapies may affect their standard treatment or may be harmful when used with conventional treatment. It is important that the same scientific methods used to test conventional therapies are used to test CAM therapies. Conventional approaches to cancer treatment have generally been studied for safety and effectiveness through a scientific process that includes clinical trials with large numbers of patients.
Less is known about the safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative methods. Few CAM therapies have been tested using demanding scientific methods. A small number of CAM therapies that were thought to be purely alternative approaches are now being used in cancer treatment—not as cures, but as complementary therapies that may help patients feel better and recover faster. One example is acupuncture. According to a panel of experts at a National Institutes of Health NIH meeting in November , acupuncture has been found to help control nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy and pain related to surgery.
However, some approaches, such as the use of laetrile, have been studied and found not to work and to possibly cause harm. OCCAM carefully reviews these materials to see if any seem worth further research.
When considering complementary and alternative therapies, patients should ask their health care provider the following questions:.
This database also provides links to the websites of over 1, journals, allowing users to view full-text articles. A subscription or other fee may be required to access full-text articles. Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine. A trained Cancer Information Specialist is available to answer your questions. Publications available from the FTC include:. Menu Contact Dictionary Search. Understanding Cancer. What Is Cancer? Cancer Statistics. Cancer Disparities. Cancer Causes and Prevention.
Risk Factors. Cancer Prevention Overview. Cancer Screening Overview. Screening Tests. Diagnosis and Staging. Questions to Ask about Your Diagnosis.
Types of Cancer Treatment. Side Effects of Cancer Treatment. Clinical Trials Information. A to Z List of Cancer Drugs. Questions to Ask about Your Treatment. Feelings and Cancer. Adjusting to Cancer. Day-to-Day Life. Support for Caregivers.
Questions to Ask About Cancer. Choices for Care.
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