Cannabis bests placebos for easing two common and debilitating side effects of chemotherapy, mainly nausea and vomiting, note preliminary results of what is being touted as a landmark clinical trial involving 81 cancer patients in Australia.
Funded by the New South Wales Government and sponsored by the University of Sydney, the phase II trial found an extra one in 10 patients at the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse cancer hospital who received capsules containing equal amounts of CBD and THC reported better control over their nausea and vomiting.
“A quarter of the patients taking medicinal cannabis experienced no vomiting and nausea, compared to 14 percent of people who took a placebo,” notes the study abstract.
The pilot phase of the study, which ran for two-and-a-half years, included cancer patients who were already experiencing nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy despite having taken nausea prevention medication, the University of Sydney reports.
“Nausea and vomiting are among the most distressing and feared consequences of chemotherapy,” said chief investigator, Dr. Peter Grimison, an associate professor at the university and a medical oncologist at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse.
Imported from Canada, the oral capsules containing 2.5 mg each of THC and CBD were developed by Tilray. The equal mix was specified because scientists believed “this will be more effective and have fewer side effects”, as well as to “minimize THC levels that have mood-altering characteristics.”
When the trial was announced three years ago, Dr. Grimison said: “The role of cannabis medicines in alleviating chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting is still unclear, and this study aims to provide a definitive answer to this question.”
The cannabis was not without some unwanted effects, notes the study published last month in Annals of Oncology.
Side effects such as sedation, dizziness and drowsiness were rated as moderate to severe in 31 per cent of people using medicinal cannabis, but these were considered manageable. In fact, “83 per cent of participants preferred cannabis to placebo. No serious adverse events were attributed to THC:CBD,” the study abstract notes.
The trial will now move to a larger phase, with another 170 people to be recruited, to “determine with much more certainty how effective medicinal cannabis is and whether it should be considered for use in routine cancer care,” Dr. Grimison says in the university statement.
The helpful effects of using cannabis have been noted in other studies involving cancer patients.
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