Cannabis and cancer: study shows that almost 50% of patients stop using conventional painkillers

Of Nina Zdinjak

Medical marijuana may help people suffering from cancer-related pain, according to a new Technion study published Friday in the journal Frontiers in Pain Research. Almost half of the patients enrolled in the study discontinued their other pain relievers after six months of medical cannabis treatment, The Jerusalem Post reported.

“Traditionally, cancer-related pain has been treated primarily with opioid analgesics, but most oncologists consider opioid treatment dangerous, requiring alternative therapies,” said author David Meiri, an assistant professor at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.

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According to peer-reviewed research, medical cannabis helps relieve pain in oncology patients while also relieving other symptoms. It is known that patients battling cancer also suffer from depression, anxiety, and insomnia, which can also negatively impact treatment and prognosis.

While opioids are effective in relieving pain, they have numerous negative side effects. For example, the synthetic opioid fentanyl is highly addictive and can be fatal if overdosed. The US is in the midst of an opioid crisis with at least 100,000 overdose deaths over the course of 12 months.

To address this, federal health officials signaled in October that they are ready to try new approaches to contain the tragedy. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra announced that the Biden administration’s strategy to combat the epidemic could include allowing controlled consumption sites.

New research offers new hope

It seems that this new Israeli research also offers hope that medical marijuana can be used as an alternative to opioids.

The study involved board-certified oncologists who prescribed medical marijuana to their patients and reported on their progress.

RELATED: Cannabis and breast cancer: What a new study reveals

“Patients completed anonymous questionnaires before starting treatment and again at multiple time points during the following six months,” said study co-author Gil Bar-Sela, associate professor at Ha’Emek Medical Center Afula. “We collected data on a number of factors, including pain management, analgesic use, exposure to cancer symptoms, sexual problems, and side effects.”

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After analyzing all the data collected, the results showed that the patients improved significantly and, more importantly, their opioid use was significantly reduced.

“Although our study was very comprehensive and presented additional perspectives on medicinal cannabis, gender, age and ethnicity, as well as cancer types and cancer stage, meant the diversity of patients in our study was broad,” said Meiri. “Therefore, future studies should examine the level of efficacy of medical cannabis in specific subgroups of cancer patients with more common characteristics.”

Previous studies on marijuana and cancer

Colon cancer: In March, Cannabotech, an Israeli biotech company developing medicinal products based on cannabis and mushroom extracts, reported results of a cell model study showing that its “integrative colon” products killed over 90% of colon cancer cells. Integrative-Colon products are based on a combination of several cannabinoids from the cannabis plant and various mushroom extracts.

Pancreatic cancer: Experiments conducted on a cell model showed that a herbal drug based on an extract of the fungus Cyathus striatus and a cannabinoid extract from the cannabis plant eliminated 100% of pancreatic cancer cells relatively selectively and without damaging normal cells. The results were announced in April.

Breast Cancer: A study published in December and conducted by Hadassah Medical Center physicians showed a six-fold improvement in breast cancer cell killing when certain Cannabotech medicinal cannabis products were used in combination with standard oncology treatments and drug protocols – chemotherapy, biological and hormonal, in comparison existing treatment.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.

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