JERUSALEM, ISRAEL — Cannabis administration is associated with the subjective improvement of symptoms in patients with cancer, according to clinical data published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine.
Israeli researchers assessed the safety and efficacy of cannabis in a cohort of over 1,200 cancer patients over a period of six months. Ninety-six percent of patients “reported an improvement in their condition.”
Symptomatic improvements included: relief from nausea and vomiting (91 percent), improved sleep (86 percent), decreased anxiety (84 percent), and pain relief (over 50 percent).
Nearly half of respondents reported either decreasing or eliminating their use of opioids during the treatment period.
Authors concluded, “Cannabis as a palliative treatment for cancer patients seems to be a well-tolerated, effective, and safe option to help patients cope with the malignancy related symptoms.”
An estimated 30,000 Israeli patients are approved to use medical cannabis, which was legalized by the Ministry of Health in 2007.
Full text of the study, “Prospective analysis of safety and efficacy of medical cannabis in a large unselected population of patients with cancer,” appears in the European Journal of Internal Medicine.
Tags: cancer, European Journal of Internal Medicine, medical marijuana
