The Effect of CBD on “Scanxiety” in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients

Cannabidiol (CBD) does not significantly decrease metastatic breast cancer patients’ scan-related anxiety, or “scanxiety,” according to the results of a recent study published in JAMA Network Open. However, researchers determined that overall, CBD appears to have a calming effect overall and is non-toxic.

Researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Mass General Brigham, including corresponding author Ilana M. Braun, M.D., a psychiatrist at Dana-Farber, studied the effects of a 400 mg dose of oral CBD or placebo on 50 women with advanced breast cancer. Doses of CBS were given before the scan and anxiety levels were measured using the Visual Analog Mood Scale (VAMS) before the scan and 2 to 4 hours after the scan.

Baseline average anxiety scores averaged 70.6 in the CBD group and 73.0 in the placebo group before the scan. Two to four hours after taking CBD, average anxiety levels dropped to 51.5 in the CBD group and 58.0 in the placebo group. A change of more than 20 points on the VAM scale score indicates a reliable change and a score greater than 30 indicates both a reliable and clinically significant change.

Although the study did not meet its primary endpoint - a significant difference between groups in anxiety change scores - the researchers found that anxiety levels were lower 2 to 4 hours after ingesting CBD. They also concluded CBD was safe as a treatment for anxiety among breast cancer patients.

No grade three or four toxic events were reported, including drowsiness, liver toxicity or suicidal thoughts. In the CBD group, one patient reported grade 1 nausea and one reported grade 2 nausea and pain, possibly attributed to the CBD.

Roughly a quarter of cancer patients experience clinical anxiety during treatment. Benzodiazepines have been the standard of care to treat symptoms, despite an increased risk for addiction, confusion and ataxia. This is especially concerning for cancer patients who generally frailer and already taking multiple medications.

Previous research has shown that CBD has a positive effect on diminishing generalized anxiety symptoms, with fewer side effects than benzodiazepines.

“Responding to a crucial need for innovative pharmacotherapies for acute oncologic anxiety, this double-masked, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial is, to our knowledge, the first oncologic CBD study with an anxiety-related primary end point,” Braun and the team write. “We believe these signals are sufficiently intriguing to justify continued exploration of CBD as a safe and possibly effective therapy for cancer-related anxiety.”