Cannabidiol (CBD) use among cancer survivors.
Authors: Chasse Margot Bailey-Dorton, Danielle Gentile, Danielle Boselli, Susan Yaguda, Rebecca Greiner
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2021)

12096 Background: Cannabidiol (CBD) is a non-psychoactive component of cannabis touted for various therapeutic effects. The Federal Drug Agency has only approved one prescription CBD product for treatment of severe epilepsy. On December 17, 2020 the Federal Trade Commission announced legal consequences for deceptively marketed CBD products in the rapidly expanding market of various CBD products; the products’ unsupported claims included CBD as a cancer treatment. Little is known about survivors use of CBD. This study explores the prevalence and nature of CBD use by cancer survivors. Methods: A link to an anonymous, electronic survey was posted on the Levine Cancer Institute and SherryStrong (Martin Truex Jr. Foundation: philanthropy for ovarian cancer) Twitter and Facebook social media platforms. Data were managed in REDCap, a secure, web-based, electronic data capture tool. Survey responses were summarized and described with frequencies and compared using Fisher’s Exact tests; p &lt; 0.1 was considered statistically significant. Results: N = 295 self-selected respondents were White (95%), female (86%), middle aged (45-64 years) (58%) and in the US (95%). Ninety percent indicated current (85%) or past (15%) use of CBD product; a third of these participants (N = 102) identified as cancer survivors. Gynecologic (31%) and breast (30%) cancers were the most recorded malignancies, and 38% report active treatment. Most survivors indicated using CBD products daily (77%) for a year or less (79%) and spent @$30 a week on products (70%). Common uses for CBD were easing pain (66%), anxiety (50%), and sleep (50%)—14% reported treating or preventing cancer. 41% learned about CBD from family/friends, fewer learned from the Internet (21%) or local store (11%). Only 12% received information from a physician. Liquid drops (58%) and topicals (19%) were popular products and reported side effects were sparse—sedation and/or euphoria were indicated by 10% and 2%, respectively. Over 82% of cancer survivors indicated that CBD product helped their conditions. CBD use to ease anxiety and stress declined with age; 71% of young survivors (aged 18-44) sought anxiety relief versus 45% and 36% of middle age (aged 45-64) and seniors (aged 65+), respectively (p = 0.05), and 58% of young survivors pursued stress relief versus 39% of middle age and 21% of seniors (p = 0.08). More young (25%) and middle age (37%) survivors indicated spending over $30 on products weekly than seniors (7%) (p = 0.08). No differences were seen in CBD use between cancer survivors by gender or treatment status. Conclusions: Cancer survivors commonly use CBD, yet infrequently under the guidance of a physician. Survivors largely rely on word of mouth and internet information about CBD. Despite lack of standardization of production and labeling of CBD products, the majority of patients reported positive improvements in symptoms. Future research should explore strategies to educate cancer patients and providers in safe CBD use.