Newly published results from a clinical trial testing the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) oil on symptoms of pain and distress in cancer patients suggest the popular product may be no more effective than a placebo. The findings add to an inconclusive body of research on the effects of medicinal cannabis for pain.
The new study is the first data to come from a series of three clinical trials studying the effects of medical cannabis on patients in palliative care with advanced cancer. Janet Hardy, from the Mater Research Institute and lead researcher on the project, said the work is trying to understand the optimal doses and uses for medical cannabis.
“The best way to describe the uptake of medicinal cannabis following its legalization was as a social phenomenon – everyone wanted it, but there was little evidence to guide its usage,” Hardy explained. “Usually, new products entering the market have gone through extensive pre-clinical studies regarding best dosage and usage, however, medicinal cannabis entered the market with very little guidance.”
This first trial focused on CBD oil, recruiting 144 patients in palliative care and randomly allocating them either a placebo or a self-titrated dose of CBD oil up to 600 mg per day. The primary metric used to measure the effects of the CBD was a total symptom distress score (TSDS) from a tool called the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale [ESAS]. This scale measures nine common symptoms in patients with advanced cancer and is…
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