Cancer and Chemotherapy Side Effects
Approximately 12% of the patients in the RI Medical Marijuana Program list cancer or chemotherapy as the primary condition for which they use marijuana.
Nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy is one of the most common reasons to use medical marijuana. Medical marijuana has been shown to reduce nausea and vomiting while stimulating appetite, thereby reducing cachexia, or wasting syndrome.
NEW RESEARCH
CAUTION: Smoking marijuana in large quantities could still contribute to respiratory irritation and infection. As articulated in the IOM's landmark study, smoking marijuana is not the optimal route of consumption. For alternatives to smoking, please consult Tips for Patients.
Read more about the Harvard lung cancer study here.
From the Institute of Medicine
"In patients already experiencing sever nausea or vomiting, pills are generally ineffective because of the difficulty in swallowing or keeping a pill down, and slow onset of the drug effect. Thus an inhalation (but preferably not smoking) cannabinoid drug delivery system would be advantageous for treating chemotherapy-induced nausea."
-- Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, Institute of Medicine, 1999
Print a free booklet from Americans for Safe Access: Medical Marijuana and Cancer
Also visit sethgroup.org to learn about research using THC to kill brain tumor cells
Published Research
Guzman M (2003) Cannabinoids: potential anticancer agents. Nat Rev Cancer. 3(10): 745-55.
McKallip, R, Lombard, C, et al. Targeting CB2 cannabinoid receptors as a novel therapy to treat malignant lymphoblastic disease.
Therapeutic Uses of Cannabis. (1997) British Medical Association. Harwood Academic Pub.
"Cannabinoids are undoubtedly effective as anti-emetic agents in vomiting induced by anti-cancer drugs. Some users of both [cannabis and Marinol] find cannabis itself more effective."
Lung Cancer --
Preet et al. 2008. Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits epithelial growth factor-induced lung cancer cell migration in vitro as well as its growth and metastasis in vivo. Oncogene 10: 339-346. <http://www.nature.com/onc
Pancreatic Cancer --
Michalski et al. 2007. Cannabinoids in pancreatic cancer: correlation with survival and pain. International Journal of Cancer (E-pub ahead of print).
Cervical Cancer --
Ramer and Hinz. 2008. Inhibition of cancer cell invasion by cannabinoids via increased cell expression of tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases-1. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 100: 59-69. <http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org
Breast Cancer --
McAllister et al. 2007. Cannabidiol as a novel inhibitor of Id-1 gene expression in aggressive breast cancer cells. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 6: 2921-2927. <http://mct.aacrjournals.org
Glioma --
Parolaro and Massi. 2008. Cannabinoids as a potential new drug therapy for the treatment of gliomas. Expert Reviews of Neurotherapeutics 8: 37-49 <http://www.future-drugs.com
Galanti et al. 2007. Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits cell cycle progression by downregulation of E2F1 in human glioblastoma multiforme cells. Acta Oncologica 12: 1-9. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Calatozzolo et al. 2007. Expression of cannabinoid receptors and neurotrophins in human gliomas. Neurological Sciences 28: 304-310. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Sanchez, C, de Ceballos, ML. (2001) Inhibition of Glioma Growth in Vivo by Selective Activation of the CB2 Cannabinoid Receptor. Cancer Research. (61) 5784-5789.