Published in:
01-08-2019 | Letter to the Editor
Cannabis versus combination chemotherapy; n = 1 trial in Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Authors:
Louisa Jane Mc Sweeney, Peter Mc Eneaney, Seamus O’Reilly
Published in:
Irish Journal of Medical Science (1971 -)
|
Issue 3/2019
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Excerpt
The unlicensed use of cannabinoids is increasingly prevalent in patients with cancer despite the negative results of the only in vivo study to assess the anti-tumour effects of marijuana derivatives [
1,
2]. In 2017, the FDA issued no fewer than 12 warning letters to companies whose websites claimed that their marijuana-based products had anti-cancer effects (
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm583295.htm). In his analysis of US public surveys conducted between 1974 and 2010, Gordon Gaucht describes a worrying diminution in public trust of the scientific community [
3]. Disingenuous claims by manufacturers of unlicensed cannabis-based products and the more complex problem of health system distrust lead to potentially fatal treatment decisions being made by some patients [
1], (
https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm583295.htm). We wish to highlight a case of Hodgkin lymphoma for which standard treatment was delayed by the patient in favour of unlicensed cannabinoid therapy. …
