(Photo credit: Craig Barker Photography).
A patient with an aggressive form of brain cancer regained the ability to walk and experienced improvements on MRI scans while using a combination of cannabinoids and terpenes, according to a newly released case report.
Researchers documented substantial neurological improvement despite previously progressing disease, although they caution that the findings do not establish that the compounds caused the changes.
The case report, posted October 21 on Research Square, was authored by researchers affiliated with the Institute for Cannabinoid Research Translational Medicine in Amsterdam, Biruni University, Istanbul University, Acibadem University Faculty of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, along with an emeritus professor of tumor immunology in Istanbul.
The report involved a 48-year-old man diagnosed with glioblastoma, one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer. The patient underwent two surgeries, radiation therapy and chemotherapy before experiencing further disease progression documented through MRI examinations.
In April 2025, the patient began a nonstandard treatment regimen that included intranasal administration of two terpenes, perillyl alcohol and alpha-bisabolol, alongside individualized cannabinoid preparations. The regimen also included medium-chain triglyceride oil, while the patient’s dexamethasone dosage remained unchanged at 2 milligrams daily.
At the beginning of this treatment period, the patient had paralysis affecting the left side of his body and a Karnofsky performance score of 50, indicating significant limitations in daily functioning. During the following months, he regained the ability to walk, with his condition improving from paralysis to partial weakness. His performance score increased to 80, indicating he could carry out normal activities with some difficulty.
MRI examinations during the same period showed a reduction in abnormal contrast enhancement surrounding the surgical cavity, following earlier scans that had documented continuing progression. Researchers described the combination of functional and radiological improvement as particularly noteworthy given the patient’s previous condition.
However, subsequent imaging revealed a more complicated clinical course. By June 2026, MRI scans showed increased enhancement in portions of the brain, including an additional cerebellar lesion, although other areas remained relatively stable. Perfusion imaging did not show pathological hyperperfusion in the sampled lesions, leaving uncertainty about whether some changes represented active cancer, treatment-related injury or radiation necrosis.
The patient ultimately died after an overall survival of 45 months, substantially longer than the approximately 12 to 16 months of typical survival cited in the report. Researchers emphasized that several factors, including earlier cancer treatments and the patient’s molecular tumor characteristics, could have influenced his survival.
The authors also noted that the treatment involved multiple compounds, making it impossible to determine whether cannabinoids, terpenes or other factors contributed to the observed improvements. The report involved only one patient, lacked a control group and has not yet undergone peer review.
Researchers concluded that the documented neurological recovery and MRI changes warrant further investigation, while emphasizing that the case does not establish an anticancer effect, a confirmed tumor response or a survival benefit from cannabinoid and terpene exposure.
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