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Karger Publishers, Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids, 1(1), p. 28-35, 2018

DOI: 10.1159/000489036

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Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids: An Option for the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Cancer of the Colon?

Journal article published in 2018 by Magdalena Grill ORCID, Carina Hasenoehrl, Martin Storr, Rudolf Schicho
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

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Abstract

In the past few years, we have witnessed a surge of new reports dealing with the role of cannabinoids, synthetic as well as herbal, in the mechanisms of inflammation and carcinogenesis. However, despite the wealth of in vitro data and anecdotal reports, evidence that cannabinoids could act as beneficial drugs in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or in neoplastic development of the human gastrointestinal tract is lacking. Some insight into the effects of medical <i>Cannabis</i> (usually meaning dried flowers) and cannabinoids in IBD has been gained through questionnaires and small pilot studies. As to colorectal cancer, only preclinical data are available. Currently, Δ<sup>9</sup>-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its synthetic forms, dronabinol and nabilone, are used as an add-on treatment to alleviate chronic pain and spasticity in multiple sclerosis patients as well as chemotherapy-induced nausea. The use of medical <i>Cannabis</i> is authorized only in a limited number of countries. None of the mentioned substances are currently indicated for IBD. This review is an update of our knowledge on the role of cannabinoids in intestinal inflammation and carcinogenesis and a discussion on their potential therapeutic use.