1. Oral THC:CBD cannabis extract for refractory chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: a randomised, placebo-controlled, phase II crossover trial
- Author
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Peter Fox, Craig Gedye, Jenny Shannon, Ian N. Olver, Karen Briscoe, Stephen Begbie, John Simes, Stephen Della-Fiorentina, Stephen Clarke, Martin R. Stockler, Nicholas Lintzeris, E Abdi, Morteza Aghmesheh, Peter Grimison, C. Hahn, Anna Walsh, Antony Mersiades, Adrienne Kirby, Annette Tognela, Y. Cheung, Rachael L. Morton, Paul S. Haber, and Iain S. McGregor
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Nausea ,medicine.drug_class ,Vomiting ,Antineoplastic Agents ,Placebo ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Double-Blind Method ,Internal medicine ,Medicine ,Antiemetic ,Cannabidiol ,Humans ,Dronabinol ,Aged ,Cannabis ,Aged, 80 and over ,Cross-Over Studies ,biology ,business.industry ,Plant Extracts ,Australia ,Hematology ,Middle Aged ,biology.organism_classification ,Crossover study ,Clinical trial ,Drug Combinations ,030104 developmental biology ,Oncology ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Antiemetics ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,business ,Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting - Abstract
Background This multicentre, randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, phase II/III trial aimed to evaluate an oral THC:CBD (tetrahydrocannabinol:cannabidiol) cannabis extract for prevention of refractory chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). Here we report the phase II component results. Patients and methods Eligible patients experienced CINV during moderate-to-high emetogenic intravenous chemotherapy despite guideline-consistent antiemetic prophylaxis. Study treatment consisted of one cycle of 1–4 self-titrated capsules of oral THC 2.5 mg/CBD 2.5 mg (TN-TC11M) three times daily, from days −1 to 5, and 1 cycle of matching placebo in a crossover design, then blinded patient preference for a third cycle. The primary end point was the proportion of participants with complete response during 0–120 h from chemotherapy. A total of 80 participants provided 80% power to detect a 20% absolute improvement with a two-sided P value of 0.1. Results A total of 81 participants were randomised; 72 completing two cycles were included in the efficacy analyses and 78 not withdrawing consent were included in safety analyses. Median age was 55 years (range 29–80 years); 78% were female. Complete response was improved with THC:CBD from 14% to 25% (relative risk 1.77, 90% confidence interval 1.12–2.79, P = 0.041), with similar effects on absence of emesis, use of rescue medications, absence of significant nausea, and summary scores for the Functional Living Index-Emesis (FLIE). Thirty-one percent experienced moderate or severe cannabinoid-related adverse events such as sedation, dizziness, or disorientation, but 83% of participants preferred cannabis to placebo. No serious adverse events were attributed to THC:CBD. Conclusion The addition of oral THC:CBD to standard antiemetics was associated with less nausea and vomiting but additional side-effects. Most participants preferred THC:CBD to placebo. Based on these promising results, we plan to recruit an additional 170 participants to complete accrual for the definitive, phase III, parallel group analysis. Trial Registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12616001036404; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=370473&isReview=true .
- Published
- 2020