A pilot randomized trial in Minnesota tested whether a state medical cannabis program can support clinical research, according to a study in JCO Oncology Practice. The waitlist-controlled trial enrolled 32 patients with newly diagnosed advanced pancreatic cancer, randomized to early access (weeks 0–8) or delayed access (weeks 9–16) through the Minnesota Medical Cannabis Program. The
The study met its prespecified feasibility benchmarks. The early group had numerically higher rates of improvement in pain, appetite and insomnia, but none of the differences were statistically significant. The authors called the preliminary results encouraging; the trial was small and its primary period lasted eight weeks.
