gw-1000 and Cancer-Pain

To describe marijuana's clinical role for urologic symptoms.. Studies related to marijuana, voiding dysfunction, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), and pain through January 2019 from PubMed were evaluated for relevance and quality.. Forty-eight studies were reviewed. Cannabinoids have mixed efficacy for neurogenic LUTS and little evidence for non-neurogenic LUTS, chronic non-cancer-related and perioperative pain. For cancer-related pain, high-level studies demonstrate cannabinoids are well-tolerated with unclear benefit.. Cannabinoids appear well-tolerated in the short-term, but their efficacy and long-term impact is unproven and unknown in urologic discomfort. Cannabinoids for urologic symptoms should be further explored with well-designed randomized controlled trials.

Topics: Cancer Pain; Cannabidiol; Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists; Cannabinoids; Cannabis; Chronic Pain; Cystitis, Interstitial; Dronabinol; Drug Combinations; Humans; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms; Male; Medical Marijuana; Multiple Sclerosis; Pain, Procedural; Pelvic Pain; Urinary Incontinence

An increasing number of patients are turning to cannabis and cannabinoids for management of their palliative and nonpalliative cancer pain and other cancer-related symptoms. Canadians have a legal framework for access to medical cannabis, which provides a unique perspective in a setting lacking robust clinical evidence. This review seeks to delineate the role of cannabis and cannabinoids in cancer pain management and offers insight into the Canadian practice.. A cohort study using nabiximols on advanced cancer pain in patients already optimized on opioids, over 3 weeks, demonstrated improved average pain score. A large observational study of cancer patients using cannabis over 6 months demonstrated a decreased number of patients with severe pain and decreased opioid use, whereas the number of patients reporting good quality of life increased.. Good preclinical animal data and a large body of observational evidence point to the potential efficacy of cannabinoids for cancer pain management. However, there are relatively weak data pointing to clinical efficacy from clinical trial data to date. In Canada, the burgeoning cannabis industry has driven the population to embrace a medicine before clinical evidence. There remains a need for high-quality randomized controlled trials to properly assess the effectiveness and safety of medical cannabis, compared with placebo and standard treatments for cancer-related symptoms.

Topics: Analgesics, Opioid; Canada; Cancer Pain; Cannabidiol; Chronic Pain; Clinical Trials as Topic; Dronabinol; Drug Combinations; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Humans; Medical Marijuana; Pain Management; Palliative Care; Quality of Life; Severity of Illness Index

Prior Phase 2/3 studies found that cannabinoids might provide adjunctive analgesia in advanced cancer patients with uncontrolled pain.. Phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial in patients with advanced cancer and average pain Numerical Rating Scale scores ≥4 and ≤8 despite optimized opioid therapy. Patients randomized to nabiximols (n = 199) or placebo (n = 198) self-titrated study medications over a two-week period, followed by a three-week treatment period at the titrated dose.. Median percent improvements in average pain Numerical Rating Scale score from baseline to end of treatment in the nabiximols and placebo groups were 10.7% vs. 4.5% (P = 0.0854) in the intention-to-treat population (primary variable) and 15.5% vs. 6.3% (P = 0.0378) in the per-protocol population. Nabiximols was statistically superior to placebo on two of three quality-of-life instruments at Week 3 and on all three at Week 5. In exploratory post hoc analyses, U.S. patients, but not patients from the rest of the world, experienced significant benefits from nabiximols on multiple secondary endpoints. Possible contributing factors to differences in nabiximols efficacy include: 1) the U.S. participants received lower doses of opioids at baseline than the rest of the world and 2) the subgroups had different distribution of cancer pain types, which may have been related to differences in pathophysiology of pain. The safety profile of nabiximols was consistent with earlier studies.. Although not superior to placebo on the primary efficacy endpoint, nabiximols had benefits on multiple secondary endpoints, particularly in the U.S.. Nabiximols might have utility in patients with advanced cancer who receive a lower opioid dose, such as individuals with early intolerance to opioid therapy.

Topics: Analgesics; Analgesics, Opioid; Cancer Pain; Cannabidiol; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; Chronic Pain; Double-Blind Method; Dronabinol; Drug Combinations; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Oral Sprays; Pain Measurement; Quality of Life; Treatment Outcome