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Scientists are “excited” about the possibility that a new study could mark the first additional NHS treatment for glioblastoma patients in over a decade.

The Brain Tumor Charity has launched a call to raise £ 450,000 to test a cannabis-based drug used to treat one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.

Cannabis has been used as a therapeutic agent for cancer patients. Some studies have previously looked at slowing tumor growth, but this is the first time a clinical trial has focused on glioblastoma patients.

The money will be used to fund a three-year study that will recruit around 232 patients from 15 hospitals across the UK early next year. It is led by researchers from the University of Leeds and coordinated by the UK Clinical Trials Unit of the University of Birmingham Cancer Research.

The study aims to measure whether the life expectancy of people diagnosed with recurrent glioblastoma can be increased by adding Sativex, an oral spray containing cannabinoids, to chemotherapy.

In England alone, this aggressive form of brain tumor is diagnosed in around 2,200 people each year, and the average life expectancy is currently less than ten months.

If this study proves successful, the researchers believe it could be one of the first additions to the NHS treatment for glioblastoma patients in more than a decade.

This study will test whether adding Sativex to chemotherapy will extend patients’ overall lives, slow the progression of their disease, or improve their quality of life.

Professor Susan Short, Professor of Clinical Oncology and Neuro-oncology at the University of Leeds, said, “It is really exciting that we are now at the point where we can do a definitive, well-designed study that will give us the answer to whether these agents could help treat the most aggressive types of brain tumors. “

“After we have shown that a particular combination of cannabinoids given as an oral spray can be safely added to temozolomide chemotherapy, we are excited to build on these results to see if this can be done in a large randomized trial Drug could help glioblastoma patients live longer. “

Dr. David Jenkinson, interim director of The Brain Tumor Charity, said, “We hope this study could pave the way for a long-awaited new lifeline that could provide glioblastoma patients valuable extra months to live and remember with loved ones.”