Cannabis sativa L. (cannabaceae): alternative for the treatment of oncological pain

Viviane Gomes da Silva
OrcID
Kelvyn Kennedy de Figueiredo Silva
OrcID
Bruna Braga Dantas
OrcID

    Viviane Gomes da Silva

    Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Campus Cuité. Olho D'água da Bica Site, Rural Area, CEP 58175-000, Cuité, PB, Brazil.

    OrcID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1391-1917

    Undergraduate student of the Bachelor's Degree in Pharmacy at the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG) - Center for Education and Health (CES), seventh period student. Member of the Curimataú Cancer Observatory research group (OCC/UFCG) coordinated by Professor Dr. Bruna Braga Dantas., research line Cancer Epidemiology in the state of Paraíba/PB. Currently, volunteer student of Scientific Initiation by the Institutional Program of Volunteer in Scientific Initiation (PIVIC). Linker of the APPLIED NEUROSCIENCES LEAGUE OF UFPE. Furthermore, volunteer student of the Extension Project Promotion of Pertinent Knowledge and Biopsychosocial Welfare, linked to the Dean of Research and Extension (PROPEX)-UFCG. Member of the Academic League of Hematology and Blood Bank - UNIP/ASSIS. ORCID- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1391-1917

    Kelvyn Kennedy de Figueiredo Silva

    Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Campus Cuité. Olho D'água da Bica Site, Rural Area, CEP 58175-000, Cuité, PB, Brazil.

    OrcID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7693-7420

    Graduating from the Bachelor's Degree in Nursing at the Center for Education and Health (CES) at the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG) (Campus Cuité/PB). He developed monitoring activities in the discipline of Human Physiology through the Initiation Program to Teaching and Health Professional Practices (2019). He was a Scientific Initiation Scholar (CNPq) by the Institutional Scientific Initiation Scholarship Program (2020/2021). Currently, he is a Scientific Initiation volunteer for the Institutional Scientific Initiation Scholarship Program / Institutional Scientific Initiation Volunteer Program. Member of the Curimataú Cancer Observatory (OCC) research group.

    Bruna Braga Dantas

    Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Campus Cuité. Olho D'água da Bica Site, Rural Area, CEP 58175-000, Cuité, PB, Brazil.

    OrcID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8807-1601

    She holds a bachelor's degree in Nursing from the Federal University of Paraíba (2011), a specialist in Public Health from the Integrated Faculty of Patos (2011), a master's degree in Pharmacology of Bioactive Natural and Synthetic Products (2014) and a PhD in Biotechnology - RENORBIO (2018), both from the Federal University of Paraiba. He has research experience in the field of cellular and molecular pharmacology, with an emphasis on evaluating the cytotoxic and anticancer activity of natural and synthetic molecules. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Academic Health Unit and at the Graduate Program in Natural Sciences and Biotechnology at the Federal University of Campina Grande-Campus Cuité. 

Keywords

Cannabis sativa
Pain
Cancer patient
Cancer

Abstract

Cancer pain is a current problem of high prevalence and difficult to manage. Searching for new perspectives for the relief of pain levels in cancer patients, the use of cannabis appears as a therapeutic alternative. The objective was to highlight, through scientific evidence, the pharmacological potential of the Cannabis sativa L. (cannabaceae) plant on cancer pain treatment. A literature review was carried out using the following databases: SciELO, LILACS, Science Direct and PubMed, considering works published between 2007 and 2020. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 25 articles were selected. The results indicated that the Cannabis sativa pharmacological potential is linked to the large number of chemical substances present in its composition, the main class being called cannabinoids. Such compounds have numerous biological properties, such as antiemetic, neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities, and may be beneficial on cancer pain treatment and psychological disorders. Currently, there is a drug in clinical use derived from cannabinoids being used to relieve cancer pain, but it is limited to Canada. It appears that perception of pain denotes a multidimensional phenomenon, which in cancer patients presents itself in a disabling way, with Cannabis sativa being a therapeutic possibility for the relief of pain levels.

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Author(s)

  • Viviane Gomes da Silva
    Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Campus Cuité. Olho D'água da Bica Site, Rural Area, CEP 58175-000, Cuité, PB, Brazil.
    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1391-1917
  • Kelvyn Kennedy de Figueiredo Silva
    Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Campus Cuité. Olho D'água da Bica Site, Rural Area, CEP 58175-000, Cuité, PB, Brazil.
    https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7693-7420
  • Bruna Braga Dantas
    Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Campus Cuité. Olho D'água da Bica Site, Rural Area, CEP 58175-000, Cuité, PB, Brazil.
    https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8807-1601

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Cannabis sativa L. (cannabaceae): alternative for the treatment of oncological pain. Rev Fitos [Internet]. 2023 Mar. 31 [cited 2025 Feb. 1];17(1):119-27. Available from: https://revistafitos.far.fiocruz.br/index.php/revista-fitos/article/view/1384
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