Most people with cancer who use cannabis report improvements in cancer-related symptoms, including pain, insomnia, mood, and appetite, according to the results of a recent study. Nearly a third of participants in the federally funded study also said that cannabis served as a substitute for opioids, Marijuana Moment reported this week.
The study was conducted by researchers affiliated with the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Penn State Cancer Institute, and Fox Chase Cancer Center. Their research was published this month in the peer-reviewed journal Supportive Care in Cancer.
The researchers surveyed 186 cancer patients, finding that 26% reported using cannabis after their diagnosis. Among them, “most cannabis users reported that it improved their cancer-related symptoms.”
“A majority of users reported improvement in most cancer-related symptoms assessed, highlighting its potential role in cancer symptom management,” the researchers wrote. “Symptom improvement was reported for insomnia (89.7% of users), appetite (85.7%), mood (83.7%), joint pains/stiffness (83.3%), stress/anxiety/depression (81.6%), cancer-related pain (80.7%), and digestive symptoms (67.9%).”
Less than half of participants reported improvements in other cancer-related symptoms, including fatigue/lack of energy (49%), sexual interest (42%), and sweating/hot flashes (28%).
Three Out of 10 Patients Used Cannabis as a Substitute for Opioids
The researchers also determined that cancer patients in the sample “commonly used cannabis as an alternative to opioids for pain management,” which the authors said “supports existing evidence suggesting that many patients prefer cannabis over opioids due to fewer side effects and better symptom control.”
The research team wrote that “30.1% reported using cannabis instead of opioids to manage pain, and 32.0% reported that cannabis helped them decrease or stop other medications.”
The patients in the study “generally viewed cannabis as safe and beneficial,” the researchers wrote, with more than nine out of 10 patients (93%) saying using cannabis has medical benefits. More than three-quarters (77%) of respondents expressed concerns about the potential risks of using medical cannabis, including legal, professional, and social consequences. Only 3% of those surveyed said that they believed cannabis is unsafe.
Overall, the study found that “cannabis use was relatively common among our sample of cancer patients, who held generally favorable attitudes towards its use, with most cannabis users reporting symptom relief across a majority of cancer-related symptoms assessed.”
The researchers also attempted to assess differences in cannabis use among cancer patients in urban, suburban, and rural communities, finding that the study participants had “broadly similar cannabis attitudes and rates of use” regardless of where they lived.
Researchers Call for Further Study
The study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. The researchers noted several limitations of the study, including its cross-sectional design and reliance on self-reported data. Additionally, the research did not differentiate the cannabinoid content or dosage of the cannabis the patients were using, or their method of consumption.
Despite the limitations, however, the researchers determined that medical cannabis was effective and called for further research, including clinical trials and multi-site prospective studies that assess the safety and effectiveness of medical cannabis across diverse regions.
“These findings point to the potential therapeutic benefits of cannabis among cancer populations,” they wrote.
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