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PERSPECTIVES OF PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGISTS AND PALLIATIVE CARE PHYSICIANS ON THE THERAPEUTIC USE OF CANNABIS IN CHILDREN WITH CANCER
Perspectives on the Use of Medical Cannabis
In the last 6 months…
Most physicians (109/119; 92%) provided care to at least one child with cancer using cannabis for symptom management
More than half (68/119; 57%) had at least one child with cancer using cannabis as an anticancer agent
Percentage of physicians who believe there is a role for cannabis products in pediatric oncology
Nausea and vomiting (85.7%)
Chronic pain (72.3%)
Cachexia/poor appetite (67.2%)
Anxiety/depression (42.9%)
Insomnia (27.7%)
Anticancer agent (0.3%)
The most common concerns identified by physicians related to the use of medical cannabis in children with cancer were uncertain benefits (90%), missing dosing and safety data (81%), uncertain side effects (76%), product quality concerns (74%) and the potential for cannabis misuse (51%).
Education and Desired Knowledge about Medical Cannabis
Nearly all physicians (95.8%) wanted to enhance their knowledge on cannabis.
Areas of desired knowledge:
Dosing, side effects and safety (96%)
Potential therapeutic uses (80%)
Different formulations (72%)
Laws and regulations related to use (72%)
Preferred sources of training:
Webinar or video lecture (65%)
Peer-reviewed publications (64%)
Online portal with scientific literature (60%)
Conferences/workshops (46%)
Future Research on Cannabis in Children with Cancer
Potential indication for medicinal cannabis in children with cancer
Therapeutic cannabis research studies in children are important
Symptom management* - 91.5%
Anticancer effects - 51.7%
Would discuss enrollment in a research study with patients
Symptoms management* - 93.2%
Anticancer effects - 47.9%
*Symptom management was defined as cancer related symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, pain, anxiety, depression, poor appetite, or cachexia.
For more information, visit www.medcannkids.ca
Produced by Zina Zaslawski in July 2021.
C4T is an academic partnership. Funding details and COI are available on our website.
This work has been supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Canadian Cancer Society (Grant No. 707031).