Abstract:

Cancer is defined as a generic term for a large group of diseases that was observed to affect any part of the body, often characterized by abnormal rapid growth of abnormal cells. According to WHO report, Cancer was the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The primary goal of the treatment is to cure cancer or to considerably prolong life, along with improved patient’s quality of life by palliative care, psychological support and alternative treatments. The present report focused on the use of Phytocannabis and its derivatives to alleviate the symptoms occurred due to cancer that included reduced appetite, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, radiotherapy-induced pain, nausea and vomiting in order to attenuate the disease process. Cancer, Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy-induced emesis and pain, all these mentioned factors led to the interrogation and investigation of the anti-emesis, pain relief, and mood stabilizing properties of Phytocannabis. This study presented the update on health and social consequences of Phytocannabis use, with a focus on the long-term and frequent use of medicinal Cannabis and its derivatives in alleviating the cancer related symptoms. It aimed to present the current knowledge on the impact of Phytocannabis use on health, from its impact on treating cancer related symptoms to its role in chemotherapy and Radiotherapy induced symptoms. This report evaluated the evidence on whether long-term Phytocannabis use is a contributory cause of the following health outcomes: relief from pain, nausea, vomiting, appetite, food taste, night sweats, and adverse physical and mental health effects such as mood swings, fatigue, hallucinations, postural hypotension, dizziness, mind alertness. Thus, the present paper reported of the use of Phytocannabis and its derivatives such as, Nabilone, Delta-9-THC, and Cannabis available in different forms (Oral, Inhaled, Sublingual) on the Quality of life of cancer patients who underwent Chemotherapy treatment and Radiotherapy treatment.

Keywords:‘cannabis’, ‘marijuana’, ‘cannabinoids’, ‘tetrahydrocannabinol’, ‘THC’, ‘dronabinol’, ‘cannabidiol’, ‘CBD’, ‘cannabidivarin’, ’nabilone’, ‘CBDV’, ‘cancer’, ‘chemotherapy’, ‘radiotherapy’ ,‘nausea’ ‘vomiting’, ‘pain’, ‘open-label studies’, Randomized controlled trials’.

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