courtesy of http://cannabisclinicians.org
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Cannabis for Brain Tumors: Two case reports in the journal Children’s Nervous System by Mansoor Foroughi and colleagues at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver discuss the “possible role of Cannabis inhalation” in the spontaneous regression of brain tumors (pilocytic astrocytomas). The cases involve a girl who underwent surgery at age 11 and a girl who underwent surgery at 13. In each case a remnant of the tumor could not be removed. |
In the first case the girl received follow-up MRI scans nine months and 33 months after surgery that showed no change in the residual tumor. A scan six years after surgery, when the girl was 17, showed that the tumor had shrunk to less than one-fifth its former size. The girl had started using Cannabis via inhalation at age 14 —the point at which the tumor began shrinking.
The 13-year-old girl had a scan three months after surgery that revealed a small residual tumor. A scan done 18-months after surgery revealed “slight growth of the remnant” —not enough to warrant another operation at that time. A scan done after three years showed “slight decrease in tumor volume, with further regression on later scans.” A scan done six years after surgery, when she was 19, “showed almost complete disappearance of the tumor remnant. The patient volunteered information that she had smoked Cannabis occasionally starting at age 14, and on an almost daily basis from the age of 16.”
The authors conclude, “Based on our experience, and the increasing recognition of spontaneous regression of PA in other locations, we advise caution against further aggressive surgery or adjuvant therapy for small residuals of PAs, especially in eloquent locations. Slight progression of the residual tumor should not necessarily be an indication to intervene, since regression may occur later. Further research may be appropriate to elucidate the increasingly recognized effect of Cannabis/cannabinoids on gliomas.”
The Abstract is posted here: Cannabis Inhalation And Brain Tumor Regression
