Gastrointestinal symptoms are common in patients with cancer, whether related to treatment or a direct effect of the disease itself. In some cases, patients may choose to access cannabinoids outside of their formal medical prescriptions to palliate such symptoms. In order to guide practice in this area, the Cancer Pain Subgroup has prepared an expert opinion/consensus guidance based on a systematic review of the evidence for the use of cannabinoids for symptom control in patients with cancer.
The review found that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and nabilone were more effective in preventing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) when compared to placebo but were not more effective than other antiemetics. For refractory CINV, one study of THC:CBD demonstrated reduced nausea as an add-on treatment to guideline-consistent antiemetic therapy without olanzapine.
Overall, there was insufficient evidence to recommend cannabinoids for the management of CINV, nausea from advanced cancer, cancer- associated anorexia-cachexia, and taste disturbance.
