Cancer patients using cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) experience significant improvements in pain management, sleep quality, and anxiety levels, according to new research published in the Journal of Pain & Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy.
The six-month observational study, which analysed data from 168 cancer patients prescribed cannabis oil or flower through the UK Medical Cannabis Registry, showed marked reductions in symptom severity across multiple measures.
The findings add weight to anecdotal real-world evidence from cancer patients, who have long reported that cannabis helps alleviate chemotherapy-induced nausea, improves sleep, reduces pain, and provides other benefits that enhance quality of life during treatment.
Researchers analysed patients’ self-reported outcomes at the beginning of treatment and at one-, three-, and six-month intervals. The results showed improvements in all measured levels, with the most significant changes seen in pain, sleep and anxiety levels. No life-threatening adverse effects were documented during the study period, with only a low incidence of mild-to-moderate side effects reported.
Despite these promising results, researchers acknowledge the study’s limitations. The small scale of the study and its design make it difficult to confidently align a causal relationship between cannabis medicines and the improvements seen in patients. The study notes concerns that patients were non-blinded, and aware that they were taking cannabis to treat their symptoms, which may lead them to be biased in their reporting. However, the authors suggest the results show promise for further research.
“More [randomised control trials] and longer observational case series are warranted, but this study can help inform their rollout, serving as a valuable pharmacovigilance tool for the use of CBMPs in [cancer pain], either as an alternative therapeutic option or as one part of multimodal treatment,” researchers said.
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