One-fourth of cancer patients may use cannabis in state where it is legalized
The researchers noted that of the estimated 1.7 million patients in the United States diagnosed with cancer yearly, many will be exposed to increased local availability of cannabis, as well as permissiveness and nonscientific reports suggesting its benefits.
One-quarter of surveyed patients at a cancer center in a state with legalized medicinal and recreational cannabis had used the drug in the past year, mostly for physical and psychological symptoms, a study found.
In a cross-sectional, anonymous survey of adult cancer patients, researchers gave a 44-item questionnaire to 926 patients at the Seattle Cancer Center Alliance. Random urine samples for tetrahydrocannabinol provided survey validation. Results were published online Sept. 25 by CANCER.
Two hundred twenty patients reported being active users of cannabis. Of these, 70% smoked and 70% used edibles, although dual use was also common (40%). Previous use of cannabis at any point in a patient's life was common among all study patients (66%). In the survey, 24% of all patients had used cannabis in the past year, and 21% had used it in the past month.
Most current users smoked or consumed cannabis primarily for physical symptoms such as pain and nausea (75%), or for psychological reasons such as coping with stress, depression, and insomnia (63%). Regardless of symptoms, 106 of 206 (51%) felt that cannabis was of major benefit and 39% felt that it was of moderate benefit.
Twenty-six percent of active users believed that cannabis was helping to treat their cancer, and 5% responded that this was their only reason for use. Seventy-six patients (35%) reported using cannabis for enjoyment/recreational use, but only 16 of these patients (7.3%) used cannabis for this reason exclusively.
Most patients had a strong interest in learning about cannabis during treatment (6 on a 1 to 10 scale; interquartile range [IQR], 3 to 10). Although most respondents preferred to get information from their cancer team (677 of 911 [74%]), fewer than 15% received information about cannabis from a cancer physician or nurse. Most received information from friends or family, print news articles, websites or blogs, or another cancer patient; more than one-third reported that they had not received any information. Only 73 of the 926 patients completing the survey (8%) did not want to receive more information.
The researchers noted that of the estimated 1.7 million patients in the United States diagnosed with cancer yearly, many will be exposed to increased local availability of cannabis, as well as permissiveness and nonscientific reports suggesting its benefits.
“Because it is estimated that cannabis use will continue to expand nationally, the development of a framework for understanding the utility of cannabis among patients who are diagnosed with cancer has become important for both patients and providers. Despite the limited evidence for a medical role for cannabis in oncology, our data suggest that cannabis may be currently used frequently in this setting,” the authors said.