PMID- 31595793
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20200304
LR  - 20200304
IS  - 1552-695X (Electronic)
IS  - 1534-7354 (Print)
IS  - 1534-7354 (Linking)
VI  - 18
DP  - 2019 Jan-Dec
TI  - The Effects of Dosage-Controlled Cannabis Capsules on Cancer-Related Cachexia and 
      Anorexia Syndrome in Advanced Cancer Patients: Pilot Study.
PG  - 1534735419881498
LID - 10.1177/1534735419881498 [doi]
LID - 1534735419881498
AB  - Background: Cancer-related cachexia and anorexia syndrome (CACS) is a common 
      phenomenon in cancer patients. Cannabis has been suggested to stimulate appetite 
      but research on this issue has yielded mixed results. The current study aimed to 
      evaluate the effect of dosage-controlled cannabis capsules on CACS in advanced 
      cancer patients. Methods: The cannabis capsules used in this study contained two 
      fractions of oil-based compounds. The planned treatment was 2 x 10 mg per 24 
      hours for six months of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) 9.5 mg and cannabidiol (CBD) 
      0.5 mg. If patients suffered from side effects, dosage was reduced to 5 mg x 2 
      per day (THC 4.75 mg, CBD 0.25 mg). Participants were weighed on every physician 
      visit. The primary objective of the study was a weight gain of >/=10% from 
      baseline. Results: Of 24 patients who signed the consent form, 17 started the 
      cannabis capsules treatment, but only 11 received the capsules for more than two 
      weeks. Three of six patients who completed the study period met the primary 
      end-point. The remaining three patients had stable weights. In quality of life 
      quaternaries, patients reported less appetite loss after the cannabis treatment 
      (p=0.05). Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) levels decreased after the cannabis 
      treatment but without statistical significance. According to patients' 
      self-reports, improvement in appetite and mood as well as a reduction in pain and 
      fatigue was demonstrated. Conclusions: Despite various limitations, this 
      preliminary study demonstrated a weight increase of >/=10% in 3/17 (17.6%) patients 
      with doses of 5mgx1 or 5mgx2 capsules daily, without significant side effects. 
      The results justify a larger study with dosage-controlled cannabis capsules in 
      CACS.
FAU - Bar-Sela, Gil
AU  - Bar-Sela G
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-6579-1841
AD  - Emek Medical Center, Afula, Israel.
AD  - Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
FAU - Zalman, Daniela
AU  - Zalman D
AD  - Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
FAU - Semenysty, Valerya
AU  - Semenysty V
AD  - Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
FAU - Ballan, Eyal
AU  - Ballan E
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-4113-3876
AD  - Bethesda Metro Center, Bethesda, MD, USA.
LA  - eng
SI  - ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT02359123
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PL  - United States
TA  - Integr Cancer Ther
JT  - Integrative cancer therapies
JID - 101128834
RN  - 0 (Analgesics)
RN  - 0 (Capsules)
RN  - 19GBJ60SN5 (Cannabidiol)
RN  - 7J8897W37S (Dronabinol)
SB  - IM
MH  - Aged
MH  - Aged, 80 and over
MH  - Analgesics/therapeutic use
MH  - Anorexia/*drug therapy/etiology
MH  - Cachexia/*drug therapy/etiology
MH  - Cannabidiol/*therapeutic use
MH  - Cannabis/*chemistry
MH  - Capsules/*therapeutic use
MH  - Dronabinol/*therapeutic use
MH  - Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions/*drug therapy
MH  - Female
MH  - Humans
MH  - Male
MH  - Middle Aged
MH  - Neoplasms/complications
MH  - Pilot Projects
MH  - Quality of Life
MH  - Self Report
PMC - PMC6785913
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - anorexia
OT  - appetite loss
OT  - cachexia
OT  - cancer
OT  - cannabis capsules
COIS- Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared the following 
      potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or 
      publication of this article: Gil Bar-Sela, Daniela Zalman, Valerya Semenysty, and 
      Hedva Sheinman-Yofe declare no conflicts of interest. Eyal Ballan works for 
      Cannabics Pharmaceuticals Inc.
EDAT- 2019/10/10 06:00
MHDA- 2020/03/05 06:00
PMCR- 2019/10/09
CRDT- 2019/10/10 06:00
PHST- 2019/10/10 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2019/10/10 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2020/03/05 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2019/10/09 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.1177_1534735419881498 [pii]
AID - 10.1177/1534735419881498 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Integr Cancer Ther. 2019 Jan-Dec;18:1534735419881498. doi: 
      10.1177/1534735419881498.