Cannabis and Cannabinoids in Adults with Cancer Guideline ASCO Guidelines

Dr. Ilana Braun and Dr. Eric Roeland join us on the ASCO Guidelines podcast to discuss the latest evidence-based recommendations on cannabis and cannabinoids in adults with cancer. They discuss nonjudgmental patient-clinician communication, the relatively narrow cancer-related indications for which there is actionable clinical evidence for cannabis and/or cannabinoids, and key information for adults with cancer and their clinicians. Dr. Braun and Dr. Roeland also review the limited evidence regarding cannabis and cannabinoid use in adults with cancer and the outstanding questions and importance of research in this area.
Read the full guideline, “Cannabis and Cannabinoids in Adults with Cancer: ASCO Guideline” at www.asco.org/supportive-care-guidelines.
TRANSCRIPT
This guideline, clinical tools, and resources are available at http://www.asco.org/supportive-care-guidelines. Read the full text of the guideline and review authors’ disclosures of potential conflicts of interest in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, 
Brittany Harvey: Hello, and welcome to the ASCO Guidelines podcast, one of ASCO's podcast hosts delivering timely information to keep you up to date on the latest changes, challenges, and advances in oncology. You can find all of the shows, including this one, at asco.org/podcasts. 
My name is Brittany Harvey, and today, I’m interviewing Dr. Ilana Braun from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Dr. Eric Roeland from Oregon Health & Science University, co-chairs on “Cannabis and Cannabinoids in Adults with Cancer: ASCO Guideline.”  
Thank you both for being here Dr. Braun and Dr. Roeland.
Dr. Ilana Braun: Thanks so much for having us, Brittany.
Dr. Eric Roeland: Thanks, Brittany.
Brittany Harvey: Then, just before we discuss this guideline, I'd like to note that ASCO takes great care in the development of its guidelines and ensures that the ASCO Conflict of Interest Policy is followed for each guideline. The disclosures of potential conflicts of interest for the guideline panel, including Dr. Braun and Dr. Roeland, who have joined us here today, are available online with the publication of the guideline in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, which is linked in the show notes.
Then to jump into the content of this guideline, first, Dr. Roeland, could you give us an overview of both the scope and purpose of this guideline? 
Dr. Eric Roeland: Sure, Brittany. I think it's important for everyone to recognize just how common the issue of cannabis or cannabinoid use is amongst people living with cancer. And I think clinicians in academia as well as through community sites, we are asked about the use of cannabis on a daily basis. And so our target audience is really to focus on clinicians providing care to adults with cancer, but also the health systems in which we work because this is a very complex issue, as well as the people living with cancer and their caregivers, as well as researchers dedicated to this field.
Brittany Harvey: So as you mentioned, this is a complex issue, and I'd like to review the key recommendations of this guideline. This guideline provides recommendations across three clinical questions that the expert panel targeted. So, starting with the first question, what is recommended for patient-clinician communication regarding cannabis or cannabinoids? 
Dr. Ilana Braun: Given the high prevalence of medicating with cannabis or cannabinoids that Eric references, somewhere in the neighborhood of 20% to over 40% of adults with cancer consume cannabis products, ASCO's guideline offers the following common-sense, good practice statement: In the clinic, providers should routinely and non-judgmentally inquire about cannabis consumption or consideration of cannabis, and either guide care or direct adults with cancer to appropriate resources. In other words, the guideline works to fully destigmatize this conversation. The guideline goes on to offer suggestions for taking a cannabin