Gliomas are a rare type of tumor that forms in the brain and along the spinal column. They are difficult to treat and must be hit with multiple treatment modalities to combat, to include resection surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible and chemoradiation therapy to further reduce the tumor’s size. Even still, treatment outcomes are often less than ideal and the survival rate of gliomas can be quite low.
That’s why a new case report of two patients who were treated with PCV (a drug regimen associated with cannabidiol) alongside chemoradiation therapy post-subtotal resection is so promising. Both patients showed satisfactory clinical and imaging responses throughout the case study trial, and one patient presented with “marked remission of altered areas.”
The report authors state these are not commonly observed responses for patients treated without the addition of PCV. While further research is required, the study results suggest medical cannabis could play a positive role in helping to treat gliomas.
This news comes after Australian researchers launched the first-ever clinical trial to study the impact of cannabis on brain tumors, and is hardly the first time medical marijuana has been suggested as a potential treatment aid for brain cancer. In fact, medical marijuana has been indicated to help ease symptoms of glioblastomas (a particularly deadly type of glioma) in the past.
