Sydney, Australia: The daily administration of plant-derived cannabis extracts is well-tolerated and improves the overall quality of life in patients with glioma (brain cancer), according to clinical trial data published in the journal Frontiers in Oncology.
A team of Australian researchers assessed the daily administration of cannabis extracts containing either a 1 to 1 ratio of THC and CBD or a 4 to 1 ratio of THC and CBD in 83 patients with glioma. Subjects in the trial consumed the extracts for a period of at least four weeks.
Investigators reported that subjects responded most favorably to extracts containing equal ratios of THC and CBD.
They concluded: “This study provides robust evidence that medicinal cannabis administered to this patient population is safe, well tolerated, and can provide symptomatic relief to these patients. … [It] suggests that cannabis, especially a 1:1 CBD/THC mixture can be helpful for many of the symptoms impacting QoL [quality of life] in this patient population, especially sleep disturbance. As such, MC [medical cannabis] may be a valuable potential therapy for maintaining the best QoL and daily function for this poor prognosis population, [while] also assisting patients during anticancer and potential life extending therapies.”
Full text of the study, “A phase II randomized clinical trial assessing the tolerability of two different ratios of medicinal cannabis in patients with high grade gliomas,” appears in Frontiers in Oncology. Additional information on cannabinoids and gliomas is available from NORML.