CBD May Help Reduce Anxiety in Breast Cancer Patients

CBD may help ease anxiety in advanced breast cancer patients before scans, offering a potential alternative treatment option.

A new study appearing in JAMA Network Open indicates that cannabidiol (CBD) can relieve anxiety in women with late-stage breast cancer before they receive a tumor assessment scan. As a phase II randomized clinical trial (RCT), the study was designed to establish if CBD would offer a safer, more effective anxiety medication alternative than standard medications, which tend to have less desirable side effects.

The study was conducted on 50 women suffering from advanced-stage breast cancer who all had experienced clinical anxiety. Participants were put into groups, and they either received a 400 mg dose of CBD given orally or received a placebo taken before their scan. Anxiety scores were measured based on the 'afraid' item of the Visual Analog Mood Scale (VAMS) and before and after 2-4 hours post-ingestion.

Outcomes indicated that anxiety levels reduced in both groups but that there was no statistically significant difference between the CBD and placebo groups. The intervention group, however, had a numerically larger reduction in anxiety, especially in those with higher baseline anxiety. The mean reduction in the 'afraid' score was -19 in the CBD group versus -15 in the placebo group.

Notably, the trial reported no serious adverse effects from the use of CBD, affirming its safety profile even in older patients with cancer. The investigators observed that although the results were not conclusive, they offered a solid platform for the further investigation of CBD as a promising intervention for cancer anxiety.

With the increased interest in using CBD as a tolerable alternative to conventional anti-anxiety medication, future studies should aim to conduct larger trials, especially on patients with moderate to severe anxiety. This could establish the real efficacy of CBD in reducing stress related to cancer and enhancing the well-being of patients.