Medicinal cannabis is a safe treatment for cancer pain, and its use may help reduce reliance on other pain medications when conventional drugs fail to provide relief, investigators say.
Cancer is common in nursing homes; so is related pain, researchers have found. Nearly 10% of the 1.5 million residents of nursing homes in the United States either already have or will receive a cancer diagnosis, according to a 2023 study. Another study from 2015 found that more than 65% of nursing home residents with cancer had any pain, 13.5% had severe and 61.3% had moderate pain.
In the current study, researchers noted that although cancer patients typically receive powerful opioids along with other medications, including anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsant drugs, 1 in 3 will still experience pain. They may also experience side effects from these pain relievers, including nausea, sleepiness, constipation and respiratory depression.
Investigators examined the treatment responses of 358 adults. Participants had an average age of 57, and their health data were recorded in the Quebec Cannabis Registry in Canada over 3.5 years from 2015 to 2018.
Patients were monitored for one year while taking either THC-dominant, THC:CBD balanced and CBD-dominant products. Most patients (59%) were prescribed to take the product by mouth.
Safe, well tolerated
Medicinal cannabis appeared to be safe and well tolerated, the researchers reported. Moderate to severe adverse events were found in 11 patients, with the 2 severe outcomes not considered to be related to the cannabis products. The most common side effects reported were sleepiness and fatigue.
The treatments appeared to have a notable effect on patients’ pain. Statistically significant decreases in pain intensity, severity and interference with daily life were found at 3, 6 and 9 months. In addition, the THC:CBD balanced products were linked to better pain control than either the THC-dominant or CBD-dominant products.
Reduction of prescriptions
Use of medicinal cannabis products was also linked to a reduction in the total number of drugs taken by the study participants. The number of prescriptions consistently fell at all quarterly check-ups, with opioid use falling over the first three check-ups, the researchers reported.
“Real-world data from this large, prospective, multicenter registry indicate that medical cannabis is a safe and effective complementary treatment for pain relief in patients with cancer,” the authors concluded.
The study was published in BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care.
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