Cannabis use tied to cancer progression and decreased survival in patients on immunotherapy: Study
Written By : Dr. Nandita Mohan
Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Published On 2020-12-24 04:15 GMT | Update On 2020-12-24 07:42 GMT
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Researchers have reported an observational study at European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Congress 2020, according to which cannabis use was associated with shorter time to progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS) among patients with advanced cancer receiving treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).
There is some evidence that cannabinoids in cannabis may be effective in the management of several associated symptoms of cancer, including cancer-related pain,neuropathic pain,cachexia, and nausea and vomiting. In addition, there is great interest in cannabis for the treatment of anorexia, sleep, anxiety, and even antineoplastic effects.
However, despite the increasing access for cancer patients, there remain limited data on the benefits and risks of cannabis for cancer-related symptom management, largely due to federal regulations. Furthermore, medical cannabis comes in different forms of delivery with varying levels of the main therapeutic cannabinoids of cannabis: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), and little is understood regarding the efficacy of different products and doses.
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