SynthesisJournal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology2020
Analgesic Effects of Cannabinoids for Chronic Non-cancer Pain: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis with Meta-Regression.
Synthesis in Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 49 citations in OpenAlex.
- Balancing risks and benefits of cannabis use: umbrella review of meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials and observational studies.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2023Pooled it
- Cannabinoid Receptors: An Update on Cell Signaling, Pathophysiological Roles and Therapeutic Opportunities in Neurological, Cardiovascular, and Inflammatory Diseases.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Pooled it
- Looking beyond traditional pain outcomes to better evaluate cannabis's true potential and limitations in chronic pain management.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2025Review
- Medicinal cannabis: is current use clinically justified?Internal medicine journal · 2025Review
- Platelet-Rich Plasma for Treating Chronic Noncancer Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Pain and therapy · 2025Review
- Association Between Legal Access to Medical Cannabis and Frequency of Non-Medical Prescription Opioid Use Among U.S. Adults.International journal of mental health and addiction · 2025Article
- Recent development of mitochondrial metabolism and dysfunction in osteoarthritis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Drug Interactions of Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol in Cannabinoid Drugs.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2023Review
- Medicinal Cannabis and Implications for Workplace Health and Safety: Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews.Workplace health & safety · 2023Article
- Perceived Effectiveness of Medical Cannabis Among Adults with Chronic Pain: Findings from Interview Data in a Three-Month Pilot Study.Cannabis (Albuquerque, N.M.) · 2023Article
- Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Seem to Indicate that Cannabinoids for Chronic Primary Pain Treatment Have Limited Benefit.Pain and therapy · 2022Article
- Cannabinoid use and effects in patients with epidermolysis bullosa: an international cross-sectional survey study.Orphanet journal of rare diseases · 2021Article
- Consensus recommendations on dosing and administration of medical cannabis to treat chronic pain: results of a modified Delphi process.Journal of cannabis research · 2021Article
- Cannabidiol (CBD) Use by Older Adults for Acute and Chronic Pain.Journal of gerontological nursing · 2021Review
- Targeting the endocannabinoid system for management of HIV-associated neuropathic pain: A systematic review.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2021Article
- Cannabis and Migraine: It's Complicated.Current pain and headache reports · 2021Review
- Sex Differences in Tolerance to Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol in Mice With Cisplatin-Evoked Chronic Neuropathic Pain.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2021Article
- Cannabis and pain: a scoping review.Brazilian journal of anesthesiology (Elsevier)Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There is growing interest in using cannabinoids for chronic pain. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the analgesic efficacy and adverse effects of cannabinoids for chronic non-cancer pain. PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL and clinicaltrials.gov were searched up to December 2018. Information on the type, dosage, route of administration, pain conditions, pain scores, and adverse events were extracted for qualitative analysis. Meta-analysis of analgesic efficacy was performed. Meta-regression was performed to compare the analgesic efficacy for different pain conditions (neuropathic versus non-neuropathic pain). Risk of bias was assessed by The Cochrane Risk of Bias tool, and the strength of the evidence was assessed using the Grade of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Forty-three randomized controlled trials were included. Meta-analysis was performed for 33 studies that compared cannabinoids to placebo, and showed a mean pain score (scale 0-10) reduction of -0.70 (p < 0.001, random effect). Meta-regression showed that analgesic efficacy was similar for neuropathic and non-neuropathic pain (Difference = -0.14, p = 0.262). Inhaled, oral, and oromucosal administration all provided statistically significant, but small reduction in mean pain score (-0.97, -0.85, -0.45, all p < 0.001). Incidence of serious adverse events was rare, and non-serious adverse events were usually mild to moderate. Heterogeneity was moderate. The GRADE level of evidence was low to moderate. Pain intensity of chronic non-cancer patients was reduced by cannabinoids consumption, but effect sizes were small. Efficacy for neuropathic and non-neuropathic pain was similar.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.