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Primary study

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Sativex for Treatment of Chemotherapy Induced Neuropathic Pain

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Registry of Trials clinicaltrials.gov
Year 2010
Links Registry of Trials

This article is included in 2 Systematic reviews Systematic reviews (2 references) 1 Broad synthesis Broad syntheses (1 reference)

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Chemotherapy is often used to treat cancer and in many cases can cure it or extend life. Unfortunately many of the chemotherapeutic agents used in treating cancer can cause nerve damage, resulting in severe pain involving the extremities. This \"neuropathic\" pain causes significant suffering in cancer survivors and may also limit the amount of chemotherapy patients are able to tolerate in attempting to treat the cancer. There is evidence that cannabinoids can suppress chemotherapy evoked neuropathy in animal models, in some cases better than morphine. This study proposes to examine the effect of a cannabinoid extract (Sativex) in treatment of neuropathic pain caused by chemotherapy.

Primary study

Unclassified

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover pilot trial with extension using an oral mucosal cannabinoid extract for treatment of chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain.

Journal Journal of pain and symptom management
Year 2014
Links Pubmed DOI

This article is included in 26 Systematic reviews Systematic reviews (26 references) 1 Broad synthesis Broad syntheses (1 reference)

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CONTEXT: Neuropathic pain caused by chemotherapy limits dosing and duration of potentially life-saving anti-cancer treatment and impairs quality of life. Chemotherapeutic neuropathy responds poorly to conventional treatments, and there is an urgent medical need for new treatments. Recent preclinical studies demonstrate that cannabinoid agonists suppress established chemotherapy-evoked neuropathy. OBJECTIVES: This was a pilot trial to begin to investigate a currently available cannabinoid agent, nabiximols (oral mucosal spray containing cannabinoids), in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain. METHODS: A randomized, placebo-controlled crossover pilot study was done in 16 patients with established chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain. A 0-10 point numeric rating scale for pain intensity (NRS-PI) was used as the primary outcome measure. RESULTS: When examining the whole group, there was no statistically significant difference between the treatment and the placebo groups on the NRS-PI. A responder analysis demonstrated that there were five participants who reported a two-point or greater reduction in pain that trended toward statistical significance and the number needed to treat was five. CONCLUSION: Chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain is particularly resistant to currently available treatments. This pilot trial found a number needed to treat of five and an average decrease of 2.6 on an 11-point NRS-PI in five "responders" (as compared with a decrease of 0.6 with placebo) and supports that it is worthwhile to study nabiximols in a full randomized, placebo-controlled trial of chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain.