Medical Cannabis for CINV - Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting
- CINV – Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting
- Both Synthetic and Natural Cannabinoids Effectively Combat CINV
- Medical Cannabis Offers Fewer Side Effects Compared to Pharmaceuticals
When cannabis treatment laws first appeared in the 1990s, they primarily aimed to protect cancer patients. Medical cannabis was already being used by many patients undergoing chemotherapy, which in most cases causes unbearable nausea and vomiting.
The effectiveness of medical cannabis against nausea was initially supported only by unofficial patient testimonials, but today we can examine official studies and understand how medical cannabinoids address nausea.
Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea (CINV)
"Completely devastating." This is how patients typically describe chemotherapy's effects, causing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). This is not ordinary nausea, but a severe and extensive nausea occurring within approximately 6-24 hours after chemotherapy.
Normally, traditional pharmaceutical antiemetics are used to minimize this side effect. Doctors try prescribing corticosteroids like Dexamethasone, various antihistamines, and even antidepressants with varying effectiveness.
How to proceed when all mentioned medications fail? Such situations are not uncommon, and doctors struggle with patient queries when medications not only fail to help but reportedly cause lethargy, drowsiness, or even delusions.
However, medical cannabinoids are changing things. It has been shown that synthetic cannabinoids like dronabinol or nabilone work well against CINV (not to be confused with synthetic cannabis like K2 or Spice). These are specifically slightly modified, synthetically produced THC cannabinoid molecules, currently approved for CINV treatment.
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