Isabella Jimenez
University of Miami
Co-Authors: Amrit Baral1, Bria-Necole Diggs1, Ciné Brown1, JoNell Potter1, Genester Wilson King2, Sarah E Messiah3, Denise C Vidot1
1University of Miami, 2Victory Recovery Center, 3University of Texas
Background: Cannabis is used to mitigate cancer symptoms and treatment side effects. However, there is a gap in the research regarding specific cannabis use patterns among women receiving treatment for gynecological cancers.
Objective: To describe cannabis use patterns among women receiving treatment for gynecological cancers in South Florida.
Methods: Data are from a subsample of women (n=215) that participated in the NCI-funded Cannabis and Cancer study (N=437) at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. REDCap was employed to collect socio-demographic, cannabis, and cancer details. Cancer type was classified as gynecological and non-gynecological. Gynecological cancers included: breast, cervical, ovarian, and uterine. Cannabis use was measured via the NCI-Cannabis Core Questionnaire. Chi square tests were employed to compare cannabis use patterns by cancer type, with two-tailed alpha set to 0.05.
Results: Of those with gynecological cancers (n=95; 44.2% of sample), 51.6% were 40-to-59 years, 25.3% > 60 years, and 23.2% 20-39 years; 44.2% were receiving treatment for gynecological cancers; and 38.9% consumed cannabis in the past 30-days. Stage 2 was the most reported (53.7%) compared to 29.5% in stage 1, 14.7% in stage 3, and 2.1% in stage 4. Most (73.0%) cannabis consumers with gynecological cancer initiated use prior to cancer diagnosis. Women with gynecological cancers reported cannabis use once a day (27.0%), weekly (18.9%), bi-weekly (18.9%), multiple times a day (16.2%), and monthly (10.8%). Smoking was the most prevalent route of use reported (71.4%) compared to 25.7% that eat/drink (p=0.02). More women with gynecological cancers reported consuming cannabis to deal with stress (70.3% vs 44.8%, p=0.015) than women with non-gynecological cancer types. Use to cope with illness was clinically different between women with gynecological cancers compared to those with other cancer types (43.2% vs 25.9%; p= 0.078).
Conclusions: Most women cannabis consumers with gynecological cancer started cannabis use prior to diagnosis, consume cannabis daily, and smoke as the most common method of consumption. Women with gynecological cancers were more likely to consume cannabis for stress management and coping with their diagnosis than those with non-gynecologic cancers. Further research is needed to explore cannabis reasons and use patterns across gynecological cancer stages and their potential link to disease progression.