cancer Archives - International Cannabis Chronicle

Study Finds That CBD Oil Mitigates Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy

Written by Frank Schuler on August 29, 2022. Posted in Archives, Science.

I have said it before and I will say it again – cancer is one of the worst things on earth. If you or a loved one has ever battled cancer, then you know firsthand how awful cancer can be. Unfortunately, it’s something that millions of people die from every year, with millions more being diagnosed during the same duration of time.

The World Health Organization estimates that in 2020 alone, over 10 million people died from cancer around the world, with cancer being to blame for one out of every six deaths on earth.

Various treatments are currently incorporated into strategies to battle cancer, with one of the most common forms of treatment being chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a drug treatment involving powerful chemicals that aim to kill fast-growing cells in the human body.

Chemotherapy can be effective in some cases, but it yields numerous side effects to some degree in all cases. One common side effect is neuropathy. Chemotherapy can damage the nervous system around the brain and spinal cord.

Fortunately for chemotherapy patients that must undergo the treatment, cannabidiol appears to help mitigate chemotherapy-induced neuropathy according to a recent study out of Denmark. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Roskilde, Denmark: The short-term administration of CBD oil extracts is safe and effective in patients suffering from chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), according to data published in the journal Supportive Care in Cancer.

Danish investigators assessed the twice daily administration of CBD oil (300 mg/daily) in patients receiving either oxaliplatin or paclitaxel-based chemotherapy. Subjects used CBD for a period of eight days immediately following their first cycle of chemotherapy. Patients outcomes were compared to those of similarly matched controls.

Researchers reported that the use of CBD was associated with pronounced improvements in patients’ pain-related outcomes, including cold sensitivity and throat discomfort.

“CBD attenuated early symptoms of CIPN with no major safety concerns,” they concluded. “Long-term follow-up is ongoing. Results should be confirmed in a larger, randomized study.”

Separate studies have identified an association between patients’ long-term use of cannabis products and statistical improvements in cancer-related symptoms as well as significant reductions in their use of prescription painkillers.

Full text of the study, “Oral cannabidiol for prevention of acute and transient chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy,” appears in Supportive Care in Cancer.

cancer, chemotherapy, denmark

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Prior Cannabis Use Inversely Associated With Urological Cancers

Written by Frank Schuler on August 19, 2022. Posted in Archives, Science.

Urological cancers can occur in both men and women and are caused by abnormal cell growths in the organs of the urinary tract and the male reproductive tract.

The specific types of urological cancers can affect the kidneys, ureter, bladder, urethra, prostate, and/or testicles. The most common type of urologic cancer is bladder cancer.

Various things can contribute to the development of urological cancers, including genetics and environmental factors, with tobacco use being a notable contributing factor.

Common treatments include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and in some cases immunotherapy. Past cannabis use is associated with a lower risk of urological cancers according to a new study. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

London, United Kingdom: Women with a past history of cannabis use are at lower risk of suffering from certain types of urological cancers, according to population-based data published in the journal Cancer Medicine.

An international team of researchers from China, France, and the United Kingdom assessed the relationship between cannabis use and cancer risk in a cohort of more than 151,000 subjects.

Investigators reported, “Previous use of cannabis was a significant protective factor” in women against renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and bladder cancer (BCa). They further reported that “previous cannabis use was a significant protective factor for PCa (prostate cancer) in men with a history of tobacco smoking.” A history of cannabis use had a null effect on rates of testicular cancer.

Authors concluded: “In the current study, we investigated the association between the use of cannabis and the risk of urological cancers. We observed that: (1) previous use of cannabis was a significant inverse association with both RCC and PCa; (2) cannabis use was associated with the lower risk of BCa in the point estimates; (3) the protective effect of cannabis on RCC and BCa was significant for females but not for males; (4) cannabis use had a causal effect on lower incidence of RCC.”

Prior studies have similarly identified an inverse association between a past history of cannabis use and the development of certain types of cancers, including bladder cancer, liver cancer, and head and neck cancers.

Full text of the study, “Association between cannabis use with urological cancers: A population-based cohort study and mendelian randomization study in the UK biobank,” appears in Cancer Medicine.

cancer, United Kingdom

Cancer Patients Reduced Prescriptions, Improved Symptoms After Long-Term Cannabis Use

Written by Frank Schuler on June 16, 2022. Posted in Archives, Science.

If you have battled cancer, or know someone that has, then you are completely aware of how awful of a condition it can be. To make matters worse, many of the current treatments for cancer come with a number of terrible side effects.

The cannabis plant has helped many cancer patients over many years in various ways, and according to a recent study in Israel, it is associated with reduced prescriptions and improvements in symptoms. Below is more information about it via a news release from NORML:

Haifa, Israel: The use of cannabis products over a six-month period is associated with statistical improvements in cancer-related symptoms as well as significant reductions in subjects’ use of prescription painkillers, according to longitudinal data published in the journal Frontiers in Pain Research.

Israeli researchers assessed the long-term use of cannabis in a cohort of several hundred oncology patients.

Consistent with studies of other patient cohorts, cannabis use was associated with symptom mitigation, improved quality of life, and reduced prescription drug use. Among those participants who completed the trial, nearly half ceased their use of analgesics.

Authors concluded: “The main finding of the current study is that most cancer comorbid symptoms improved significantly during six months of MC [medical cannabis] treatment. … Additionally, we found that MC treatment in cancer patients was well tolerated and safe. … In conclusion, this prospective, comprehensive and large-scale cohort demonstrated an overall mild to modest long-term statistical improvement of all investigated measures including pain, associated symptoms and, importantly, reduction in opioid (and other analgesics) use.”

Full text of the study, “The effectiveness and safety of medical cannabis for treating cancer related symptoms in oncology patients,” appears inFrontiers in Pain Research. Additional information is available from the NORML fact sheet, “Relationship Between Marijuana and Opioids.”

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Tag: cancer

Study Finds That CBD Oil Mitigates Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathy

Prior Cannabis Use Inversely Associated With Urological Cancers

Cancer Patients Reduced Prescriptions, Improved Symptoms After Long-Term Cannabis Use

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