"We are unable to confirm causation from this single case. However spontaneous regression of lung cancer is extremely rare. The only difference in this case was the ingestion of the CBD oil. The patient continued to maintain the same diet, medications and lifestyle, including her smoking habit," Dr. Kah Ling Liew of Watford General Hospital, United Kingdom, told Reuters Health by email.
According to a paper in BMJ Case Reports, the 80-year-old woman's tumor measured 41 mm in size at diagnosis, with no evidence of local or further spread, rendering her eligible for surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. But she refused all treatment and was placed under "watch and wait" monitoring, which included regular CT scans every three to six months.
These scans showed that the tumor was progressively shrinking, reducing in size from 41 mm in June 2018 to 10 mm by February 2021 - an overall 76% reduction in maximum diameter, averaging 2.4% a month, the authors report.
When contacted by her doctors in 2019 to discuss her progress, the woman revealed that she had been using CBD oil as an alternative self-treatment for her lung cancer since August 2018, shortly after first being diagnosed.
The woman said she consistently took 0.5 mL of CBD oil, usually three times a day, but sometimes twice a day. The CBD oil was sourced outside of the U.K., and according to the supplier, the main active ingredients were 19.5% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), 20.5% CBD and 23.8% tetrahydrocannabinolic acid.
The woman reported reduced appetite since starting CBD oil, which may or may not have been related to the CBD oil, the authors note. There were no other changes to her prescribed medications, diet or lifestyle. The woman was advised to quit smoking, but she declined, and was smoking one pack a week throughout the surveillance period.
"This is an exciting positive observation in a single case of a patient who opted for a non-conventional, unlicensed treatment. Other such cases have also been reported in isolation. Clearly conclusions cannot be drawn with such a small sample size," Dr. Liew told Reuters Health.
"Clinicians need to be aware that their patients may be taking non-conventional and unlicensed treatments without their clinician's knowledge and it is always important to take into account a patient's choices when discussing treatment options (ie. being open and honest about potential benefits and side effects of treatments)," Dr. Liew advised.
"CBD/THC deserves further study as a primary form or adjunct for cancer treatment as the treatment itself seems to be minimally invasive. However the optimal dosage, form, route of administration, and combination of CBD/THC for each specific type of cancer (brain/lung/liver/prostate, etc.) needs to be further researched and determined," Dr. Liew added.
In a statement from the U.K. nonprofit Science Media Center, Dr. David Nutt, with Imperial College London, said: "This is one of many such promising single case reports of medical cannabis self-treatment for various cancers." (https://bit.ly/3vr6qwu)
"Such case reports are biologically credible given the adaptogenic nature of the endocannabinoid system. A case report itself is not sufficient to give any form of proof that one thing caused the other - we need trials for that. There are some controlled trials already started and more are required to properly explore the potential of medical cannabis in a range of cancers," Dr. Nutt said.
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/3m5OCEh BMJ Case Reports, online October 14, 2021.
By Megan Brooks
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