25/07/2025
Pancreatic Cancer
Chemotherapy and cannabis oil
Andy Hospodor, a member of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians, presented at the Pancreatic Cancer: Innovations in Research and Treatment Conference in May 2014 in New Orleans ("We Are"). His presentation abstract is below:
"In over 20 states, cancer patients have access to cannabinoids (aka medical ma*****na) and use them to treat symptoms of chemotherapy, such as nausea and lack of appetite. However, new evidence, both scientific and empirical, suggests that higher doses of cannabinoids may be an effective adjuvant alongside traditional chemotherapy agents, such as Gemcitibine. While nausea is controlled with daily dosages of 10 to 40mg, pancreatic cancer cells are known to over express the endo-cannabinoid receptor CB1 one hundred fold. Cannabinoids target different receptors than traditional chemotherapy agents and have low combinatorial toxicity, and as such present a
class of new treatments.
In an n=1 study of a patient with stage IV pancreatic adeno-carcinoma, we augmented the standard Gemcitibine chemotherapy with balanced initial doses 50mg THC and 50mg CBD and
increased over a four week period to achieve a12.5 mg/kg dosage. Curiously, after ten days the patient stopped presenting signs of cannabinoid use, such as red eyes, slurred speech and clumsiness. However, the patients CA-19-9 marker increased from 8,800 at diagnosis to 26,000.
Over the next four weeks, dosage of CBD was held constant and THC was increased to
1050mg daily for a dosage of 20 mg/kg. At week 6, the CA-19-9 marker began decreasing and cannabinoids were leveled off, although a higher dosage was planned for weeks 8-12. At week 15, CA-19-9 markers dropped to pre-diagnosis levels and a CAT scanned revealed shrinkage of the tumor. We anticipate continued tumor shrinkage and reduction of CA-19-9 marker levels to normal levels by week 20. Although many pancreatic cancer patients have access to cannabinoids, issues such as potency, purity and bio-availablity will impact future adjuvant cannabinoid therapies. We have addressed the issues with existing technology and hope to conduct large scale trials to examine the efficacy of Gemcitibine + cannabinoids in the treatment of pancreatic cancer."
In August 2013, Wallace "Buddy" Rose was told he had a tumor on his pancreas, as indicated by a CT scan ("Amazing"). The cancer was Stage I. Therefore, Wallace's doctor said surgery could save him, but he needed to see an oncologist for a referral to a surgeon. At the meeting with the oncologist, Wallace was told surgically removing the tumor would save his life. However, Wallace did not have insurance and could not afford the surgery. It took six weeks for him to raise the money, after which surgery was scheduled for November 4, 2013.
During surgery, doctors observed the pancreatic tumor had grown through Wallace's pancreatic wall and attached to his stomach and spleen. There were numerous tumors in his liver and a spot in his kidney. The surgery was stopped at this point, and Wallace was formally diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer. Doctors said nothing more could be done. On December 18, it was confirmed the cancer had metastasized throughout his body; Wallace was told he could expect to start declining in three weeks and may starve to death in a month. He was explicitly told he could not be cured, but that chemotherapy may prevent the cancer from spreading further and extend his life by six to eight months. The following panel shows Wallace's CA 19-9 scores increasing over the months following his diagnosis.
On December 26, 2013, Wallace began the chemotherapeutic drugs Gemcitabine and Abraxane.
On that day, his CA 19-9 score was determined to be 5006.8. Shortly before this, Wallace had a"saying goodbye" party. During the event, one of his relatives slipped some cannabis oil in his wife Cathy's Christmas stocking.
Wallace was initially very skeptical of cannabis oil, believing it to be propaganda for the pro-
cannabis legalization movement. With such a bad prognosis he realized he had nothing to lose, so he began taking two to three grams of cannabis oil each day (a notably high dose). He did not know what to expect and wanted advice from a doctor. Thankfully, he found Dr. Kathleen Smith, who helped him obtain his medical cannabis license.
Wallace ingested cannabis oil over the last few days of December and every day in January. He did not believe in the medicine until a scan in February indicated a dramatically reduced cancer cell count.
The combination of cannabis and chemotherapy nearly eliminated Wallace's cancer. The tumors in his liver, spleen, stomach wall, and kidney were gone. The only thing remaining was a small portion of the original pancreatic tumor. On March 30, 2014, his CA 19-9 was at 42; normal is 35. Wallace stated his intention to continue using cannabis oil and began working again. On May 28, 2014, CT scans showed no cancer and a normal cancer cell count.
The author spoke with Wallace several months after he became cancer free. Among other things, he said he had given away the cannabis oil he was using for maintenance doses to someone in a more urgent situation. Apparently due to this noble decision, the cancer returned.
Tragically, Wallace was unable to reinitiate his former treatment protocol. His son reported to the author that Wallace passed away in February 2015. It is hopeful that his experience will encourage clinical trials as well as the use of cannabis extracts by other pancreatic cancer
patients.
