The new phase II trial, to be funded by The Brain Tumour Charity, is to launch at 15 NHS hospitals and follows promising results from a phase I study in 27 patients.
Glioblastomas are the most common and most aggressive form of brain cancer, with around 2,200 people diagnosed each year in England alone***.
Principal Investigator, Professor Susan Short, Professor of Clinical Oncology and Neuro-Oncology at the University of Leeds, said: “The treatment of glioblastomas remains extremely challenging.
“Cannabinoids have well-described effects in the brain and there has been a lot of interest in their use across different cancers for a long time now.
“We know there is significant interest among our community about the potential activity of cannabinoids in treating glioblastomas, and we’re really excited that this world-first trial here in the UK could help accelerate these answers.
“But we also know that for many, this trial won’t come soon enough.
Having had to leave work early with a severe headache and a stabbing pain in my right eye, my wife insisted that we go straight to hospital after what my brother had experienced.
“I was admitted that same day, had a scan and that’s when they identified it was a brain tumour.
“I joined the early trial of Sativex in the hope that it could improve my quality of life, but I also thought it was important to do so as the chemotherapy and radiotherapy I was having had all been trialled by other people before it could be used safely.
“I took the oral spray 10 times a day, and it was easy as I could take it wherever we were going, even while out for dinner.
**The initial phase 1b trial, led by the same authors, was published in the British Journal of Cancer in February 2021.
Incidence and outcomes for cerebral glioblastoma in England, Public Health England; Brodbelt, A., Greenberg, D., Winters, T., Williams, M., Vernon, S.