Study on cannabis chemical as a treatment for pancreatic cancer may have ‘major impact,’ Harvard researcher says
Pancreatic cancer makes up just 3 percent of all cancers in America. But with a one-year survival rate of just 20 percent (and five-year survival rate of less than 8), it’s predicted to be the second leading cause of cancer-related death by 2020.
Headlines about the illness, as a result, tend to be discouraging. But this month scientists from Harvard University’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have released some much-needed good news. In their study, published in the journal Frontiers of Oncology on July 23, the researchers revealed that a chemical found in cannabis has demonstrated “significant therapy potential” in treatment of pancreatic cancer.
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The Lack of Clinical Trials in the Medical Marijuana Industry
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Survey of oncologists finds knowledge gap on medical marijuana
As more states legalize medical marijuana, two key groups — researchers whose job is it to understand its benefits and drawbacks, and physicians charged with advising potential users — are struggling to catch up with policymakers. Ilana Braun, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and chief of the division of adult psychosocial…
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CEO Spotlight: James West
As a former academic coordinator for the City University of New York Research Foundation and Medgar Evers College, CEO and co-founder of Arfinn Med, James West, has extensive experience in adult education and professional training programming. James put this extensive education to good use when he noticed that there was a direct need for a…
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Older adults and medical marijuana: Reduced stigma and increased use
As a primary care doctor who has incorporated medical cannabis into his practice, it is notable how many silver-haired patients are coming in to discuss the pros and cons of a trial of medical cannabis. These patients range from people in their 60s with kidney failure who can no longer take certain pain medications but…
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Substance in cannabis ‘could boost pancreatic cancer treatments’
A substance found in cannabis plants might boost treatments for patients with pancreatic cancer, research in mice has suggested. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is not psychoactive, meaning it does not produce feelings of being high in those who take it. It is extracted from hemp plants and is legal in the UK, although a CBD product…
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More baby boomers use medical marijuana, but they want their doctors to get wise to the risks and benefits
Baby boomers’ marijuana use has edged upward in the past decade, but recent research suggests some still have a hard time getting a hold of the drug. Older adults want more education, more research and greater openness with their health-care providers about using medical marijuana, according to a qualitative study of older cannabis users and non-users in…
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