Cancer Therapy, Supportive

Overview :

Different kinds of drugs are used for different purposes in supportive cancer therapy. To relieve nausea and vomiting, a physician may prescribe dolasetron (Anzemet), granisetron (Kytril) or ondansetron (Zofran). Drugs called colony stimulating factors are used to help the bone marrow make new white blood cells to replace those destroyed by cancer treatment. Examples of colony stimulating factors are filgrastim (Neupogen) and sargramostim (Leukine). Another type of drug, epoetin (Epogen, Procrit), stimulates the bone marrow to make new red blood cells and help patients overcome anemia. It is a synthetically made version of human erythropoietin that is made naturally in the body and has the same effect on bone marrow.

Some physicians who treat cancer recommend that their patients use marijuana to relieve nausea and vomiting. This practice is controversial for several reasons. Using marijuana, even for medicinal purposes, is illegal in most states. Also, most of the evidence that marijuana effectively relieves nausea and vomiting comes from reports of people who have used it, not from carefully designed scientific studies called clinical trials. An oral medication that contains one of the active ingredients of marijuana is available with a physician's prescription and sometimes is used to treat nausea and vomiting in patients undergoing cancer treatment. However, the drug, dronabinol (Marinol), takes longer to work than smoked marijuana and may be difficult for patients with nausea and vomiting to swallow and keep down.

In 1997, the National Institutes of Health issued a report calling for more research into medical uses of marijuana. The panel of experts who wrote the report also recommended that researchers investigate other ways of getting the active ingredients of marijuana into the body, such as nasal sprays, skin patches and inhalers. In 2000, the American Cancer Society funded research into a skin patch. A 2003 report said that a University of Kentucky researcher had applied for a patent for the patch which used synthetic cannabinoids.

Patients who want to use marijuana to relieve side effects of cancer treatment should talk to their physicians and should carefully consider the benefits and risks, both medical and legal.