UK medical cannabis registry: an analysis of clinical outcomes of medicinal cannabis therapy for cancer pain
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Cancer pain (CP) is a prevalent condition with limited pharmacotherapeutic options. Cannabis-based medicinal products (CBMPs) have shown analgesic effects, but their efficacy in CP remains contentious. This study aims to evaluate the change in patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and adverse events (AEs) in CP patients treated with CBMPs. A case series was conducted using prospectively collected clinical data from the UK Medical Cannabis Registry. Primary outcomes were the changes in the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), pain visual analogue scale (Pain-VAS), EQ-5D-5L, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) and Single-Item Sleep Quality Scale (SQS) questionnaires from baseline to 1, 3, and 6 months. AEs were recorded and graded. p < 0.050 was considered statistically significant. One hundred and sixty-eight participants were included. CBMPs were associated with improvements in all pain-specific PROMs at all follow-up periods (p < 0.050). Improvements in GAD-7, SQS, and EQ-5D-5L index scores were also observed (p < 0.050). Twenty-nine AEs (17.26%) were reported by five patients (2.98%), mostly mild-to-moderate (72.41%). Although the observational design means causality cannot be established, the findings support the development of future randomized controlled trials into CP management with CBMPs.
Date Issued
2025-04-03
Date Acceptance
2025-01-14
Citation
Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, 2025, 39 (2), pp.174-194
ISSN
1536-0288
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Start Page
174
End Page
194
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy
Volume
39
Issue
2
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39921589
Subjects
Cancer pain
cannabidiol
cannabinoid
medical cannabis
tetrahydrocannabinol
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2025-02-08