Are cannabinoids an alternative for cachexia-anorexia syndrome in patients with advanced cancer?

Cachexia and anorexia are among the most frequent symptoms in patients with cancer. Cannabinoids have been used in patients with advanced cancer; however, their role is still controversial.

To answer this question we used Epistemonikos, the largest database of systematic reviews in health, which is maintained by screening multiple information sources, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, among others. We extracted data from the systematic reviews, reanalyzed data of primary studies, and generated a summary of findings table using the GRADE approach.

We identified ten systematic reviews including three studies overall, of which two were randomized trials. We concluded it is not clear whether cannabinoids have any positive effect on increasing weight because the certainty of the evidence is very low. They might not have any effect on appetite, and are probably associated to frequent adverse effects.