a small u.s. study involving 45 gynecologic cancer patients prescribed medical marijuana (mm) for symptom management found 71 per cent self-reported improvement in at least one symptom.
investigators considered patients prescribed mm from may 2016 to february 2019 and reviewed the formulation prescribed, usage patterns, length of use, symptom relief and side effects. patients were given mm for less than a month to 25.4 months, notes the
study published on june 24
in
gynecologic oncology report
.
about 55 per cent of patients were prescribed formulations with a 1:1 thc:cbd ratio, inhaled and sublingual formulations were prescribed in more than 70 per cent of women and many patients were prescribed more than one formulation.
these patients “commonly experience nausea, vomiting, pain, anorexia and fatigue related to cancer-directed therapy or to their cancer itself, that may be treated with medical marijuana or synthetic cannabinoids,” authors write.
specifically, the study notes that 56 per cent of the patients used mm for pain, 47 per cent for nausea/vomiting, 33 per cent for anorexia and 27 per cent for insomnia.
with 89 per cent of the patients receiving chemotherapy and 56 per cent undergoing primary treatment, more than 70 per cent reported improvement in nausea/vomiting compared to 36 per cent who were using it for pain relief.