EGRP Cancer Epidemiology News

September 2024

• Cannabis Use Among Cancer Survivors
• New Funding Opportunities
• NIH Prize Competitions
• Grants Policy Announcements
• Requests for information
• NCI Career and Training Opportunities
• News and Blog Posts

Cannabis Use Among Cancer Survivors

The Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program (EGRP) in the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) is pleased to announce a special open-access JNCI Monograph focused on cannabis use among cancer survivors that was published in August 2024.

The US legal landscape of medical and nonmedical cannabis and cannabinoid (cannabis-derived products) use has changed dramatically over the past decade, with wide variation in state policies. Concurrently, the available delivery methods of these products have also undergone substantial changes and include edibles, oils, tinctures, topicals, and inhaled forms. These changes in legalization and types of cannabis and cannabinoid products have increased access and use among the general US population as well as among individuals undergoing treatment for cancer and other cancer survivors.

This collection of 14 papers stem from surveys conducted by 12 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers among their cancer survivor populations. These 12 centers are located in states with varied cannabis legalization. The surveys included a standardized set of core questions developed by NCI on perceptions, prevalence, and patterns of cannabis use among cancer patients and survivors, and some centers included additional questions. Results include information related to the reasons for cannabis use, sourcing of cannabis, and ethnic variations in use; costs and behavioral factors associated with cannabis use; patient-provider communication; and methodological issues related to the survey analysis.

The monograph includes

• An overview of cancer patient perspectives on cannabis use during treatment by Helzlsouer et al;
• Perceptions, prevalence, and patterns of cannabis use among cancer patients treated at 12 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers by Ellison et al;
• Data quality in a survey of registered medical cannabis users with cancer: nonresponse and measurement error by Ziengenfuss et al;
• Concurrent substance use among cancer patients with and without a history of cannabis use since cancer diagnosis at an NCI-Designated Cancer Center in Florida by Islam et al;
• Tobacco-cannabis co-use among cancer patients and survivors from 2 US cancer centers by Smith et al;
• The association of perceived cannabis risks and benefits with cannabis use since cancer diagnosis by Mc-Daniels-Davidson et al;
• Ethnic differences in the patterns, sources, and reasons for cannabis use among cancer patients at an NCI-Designated Cancer Center by Vidot et al;
• Cannabis use and patient-reported outcomes among patients at a comprehensive cancer center by Gonzalez et al;
• Cannabis and opioid perceptions, co-use, and substitution among patients across 4 NCI-Designated Cancer Centers by Ashare et al;
• Item response theory analysis of benefits and harms of cannabis use in cancer survivors by Jones et al;
• Cancer stage and consideration of cannabis use among adult cancer survivors in Southern California by Kasiri et al;
• A survey of patients with cancer and oncology health-care professionals about cannabis use during treatment by Lee et al;
• Patient-provider communication about the use of medical cannabis for cancer symptoms by Turner et al; and
• Patient out-of-pocket costs for cannabis use during cancer treatment by Lapen et al.

Despite this increase in cannabis and cannabinoid use, research on its health effects, including both the potential benefits and harms, remains limited. EGRP helps lead a Trans-NCI Cannabis and Cancer Research Interest Group that identifies areas of scientific opportunities and barriers to progress in cannabis- and cannabinoid-related cancer research and develops initiatives to address them. For example, this group organized a 2020 symposium that highlighted current cannabis, cannabinoid, and cancer science; published a JNCI Monograph in December 2021 that summarized the symposium proceedings; and developed funding opportunity RFA-CA-22-052 to support research addressing benefits and harms of cannabis and cannabinoid use among cancer patients.

The surveys conducted by the NCI-Designated Cancer Centers and the results presented in the August 2024 JNCI Monograph are critical in understanding our knowledge gaps related to the use of cannabis among individuals undergoing treatment for cancer and other cancer survivors.

Additionally, the following are examples of active NIH notices of funding opportunities related to cannabis use and cancer.

• NOT-CA-22-085, Notice of Special Interest: Basic Mechanisms of Cannabis and Cannabinoid Action in Cancer
• NOT-CA-24-096 and NOT-CA-24-097, Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Tobacco, Alcohol, and Cannabis Policy Research for Health Equity
  • There is a pre-application webinar planned for October 24, 2024 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET.

EGRP also encourages investigator-initiated grant applications. To view all DCCPS-related notices of funding opportunities, visit https://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/funding/funding-opportunities.

Additional funding opportunities and research resources related to cannabis and cannabinoid use in adult cancer patients will be added to an EGRP web page, Assessing the Benefits and Harms of Cannabis and Cannabinoid Use in Adult Cancer Patients, as they become available.

NCI also joined other NIH Institutes and Centers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to commission the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to recommend an approach focused on the health implications of cannabis policy and a research agenda for the next five years. The report, Cannabis Policy Impacts Public Health and Health Equity, was released in September 2024. The report had several key recommendations including increased state and local regulation, more research on the health effects and risks of cannabis use, and greater public education and awareness of cannabis use.

New Funding Opportunities

NIH Prize Competitions

Grants Policy Announcements

Requests for information

NCI Career and Training Opportunities

News and Blog Posts