Topical Cannabidiol for the Treatment of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy

December 29, 2025 updated by: Mayo Clinic

Topical Cannabidiol (CBD) for the Treatment of Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Pilot Trial

This clinical trial compares topical cannabidiol to placebo in improving chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, or painful sensations in your hands or feet due to chemotherapy. Peripheral neuropathy is a nerve problem that causes pain, numbness, tingling, swelling, or muscle weakness in different parts of the body. It usually begins in the hands or feet and gets worse over time. Peripheral neuropathy caused by chemotherapy is called chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). CIPN is commonly seen in patients receiving certain chemotherapy medications and is hard to treat. Medications commonly used to treat CIPN have limited benefits and may cause significant side effects. A small report showed that topical cannabidiol may help treat neuropathy in patients with diabetes. This study is being done to determine if cannabidiol cream can help improve the symptoms of CIPN.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To evaluate whether topical cannabidiol (CBD) improves CIPN, compared to placebo.

II. To evaluate side effects from topical CBD cream use, compared to placebo.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Other measures of neuropathy as measured by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ) CIPN20 motor subscale, the EORTC QLQ CIPN20 autonomic scale, and the total Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) neuropathy scale.

II. Adverse event profiles will also be assessed using symptom questionnaires and CTCAE version (v)5.0.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms.

ARM I: Patients apply cannabidiol cream topically to affected areas twice daily (BID) for 14 days. Patients then apply placebo cream topically to affected areas BID for 14 days.

ARM II: Patients apply placebo cream topically to affected areas BID for 14 days. Patients then apply cannabidiol cream topically to affected areas BID for 14 days.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
40

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Minnesota
      • Albert Lea, Minnesota, United States, 56007
        • Mayo Clinic Health System Albert Lea
      • Grand Rapids, Minnesota, United States, 55744
        • Fairview Grand Itasca Clinic and Hospital
      • Hibbing, Minnesota, United States, 55746
        • Fairview Range Medical Center
      • Mankato, Minnesota, United States, 56001
        • Mayo Clinic Health System Mankato
      • Monticello, Minnesota, United States, 55362
        • Monticello Cancer Center
      • Princeton, Minnesota, United States, 55371
        • Fairview Northland Medical Center
      • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
        • Mayo Clinic in Rochester
      • Thief River Falls, Minnesota, United States, 56701
        • Sanford Thief River Falls
      • Worthington, Minnesota, United States, 56187
        • Sanford Worthington

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age >= 18 years
  • English speaking
  • Cancer diagnosis of any tumor type with chemotherapy-induced neuropathy
  • At least 4 out of 10 severity of neuropathy pain and/or tingling
  • Stable for at least 7 days prior to registration on medications for neuropathy, if any are being used
  • Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) 0, 1 or 2

  • Negative pregnancy test done =< 7 days prior to registration, for persons of childbearing potential only

    • NOTE: If a urine test is positive or cannot be confirmed as negative, a serum pregnancy test will be required
  • Able to provide written informed consent
  • Ability to complete questionnaire(s) by themselves or with assistance
  • No evidence of residual cancer
  • Platelet count > 100,000/mm^3 (following completion of chemotherapy)
  • Absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >= 1,000/mm^3 (following completion of chemotherapy)
  • Hemoglobin > 11 g/dL (following completion of chemotherapy)
  • Serum transaminase (alanine aminotransferase [ALT] or aspartate aminotransferase [AST]) =< 1.2 x upper limit of normal (ULN) (following completion of chemotherapy)
  • Alkaline phosphatase =< 1.2 x ULN (following completion of chemotherapy)
  • Serum creatinine =< 1.2 x ULN (following completion of chemotherapy)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any of the following because this study involves an investigational agent whose genotoxic, mutagenic and teratogenic effects on the developing fetus and newborn are unknown:

    • Pregnant persons
    • Nursing persons
    • Persons of childbearing potential who are unwilling to employ adequate contraception
  • Any medical condition that would prohibit use of a topical cream (skin infection or open wound in the area of the neuropathy)
  • Co-morbid systemic illnesses or other severe concurrent disease which, in the judgment of the investigator, would make the patient inappropriate for entry into this study or interfere significantly with the proper assessment of safety and toxicity of the prescribed regimens
  • Pre-existing neuropathy prior to chemotherapy that would confuse the issue of CIPN
  • Currently on chemotherapy or received chemotherapy treatment within the prior 3 months
  • Use of other cannabis products within 30 days prior to registration
  • History of allergy to cannabis products

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Quadruple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Arm I (cannabidiol, placebo)
Patients apply cannabidiol cream topically to affected areas BID for 14 days. Patients then apply placebo cream topically to affected areas BID for 14 days.
Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment
Ancillary studies
Other Names:
  • Quality of Life Assessment
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Ancillary studies
Drug: Cannabidiol
Applied topically
Other Names:
  • CBD
  • Epidiolex
  • CBD Oil
  • GWP42003-P
Drug: Placebo Administration
Applied topically
Experimental: Arm II (placebo, cannabidiol)
Patients apply placebo cream topically to affected areas BID for 14 days. Patients then apply cannabidiol cream topically to affected areas BID for 14 days.
Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment
Ancillary studies
Other Names:
  • Quality of Life Assessment
Other: Questionnaire Administration
Ancillary studies
Drug: Cannabidiol
Applied topically
Other Names:
  • CBD
  • Epidiolex
  • CBD Oil
  • GWP42003-P
Drug: Placebo Administration
Applied topically

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) From Baseline
Time Frame: Week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4
CIPN will be measured by the sensory subscale of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ)-CIPN20 which is composed of 9 individual items. Each item is scored on a 1-to-4 scale, where 1 means "not at all" and 4 means "very much." Higher scores indicate greater severity of symptoms.
Week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in EORTC QLQ CIPN20 Motor Subscale From Baseline
Time Frame: Week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4
Motor symptoms of CIPN will be measured by the motor subscale of the EEORTC QLQ-CIPN20 which is composed of 8 individual items. Each item is scored on a 1-to-4 scale, where 1 means "not at all" and 4 means "very much." Higher scores indicate greater severity of symptoms. Will be compared between arms using two-sample, two-sided t-tests. The cannabidiol arm will be compared to the placebo arm. Will construct 95% confidence intervals for the mean difference in sensory neuropathy score between arms. Repeated measures mixed models will be applied to the sensory scores over all time points to determine longitudinal effects and to adjust for confounding factors. Graphical results will include profile plots over time, stream plots of individual changes over time, and forest plots of the 95% confidence intervals by arm.
Week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4
Change in EORTC QLQ CIPN20 Autonomic Scale From Baseline
Time Frame: Week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4
Autonomic nervous system symptoms related to CIPN will be measured by the autonomic subscale of the EEORTC QLQ-CIPN20 which is composed of 3 individual items answered on a 4-point scale ranging from "not at all' to "very much." . Higher scores indicate more severe symptoms. Will be compared between arms using two-sample, two-sided t-tests. The cannabidiol arm will be compared to the placebo arm. Will construct 95% confidence intervals for the mean difference in sensory neuropathy score between arms. Repeated measures mixed models will be applied to the sensory scores over all time points to determine longitudinal effects and to adjust for confounding factors. Graphical results will include profile plots over time, stream plots of individual changes over time, and forest plots of the 95% confidence intervals by arm.
Week 1, week 2, week 3, and week 4
Incidence of Adverse Events (AEs)
Time Frame: Up to 14 days for each part of a sequence
Incidence of AEs will be reported per arm, assessed using Common Terminology Criteria (CTCAE) version 5.0.
Up to 14 days for each part of a sequence
Incidence of Grade 3 or Higher Adverse Events
Time Frame: Up to 28 days
Will be assessed using symptom questionnaires and CTCAE version 5.0. Will compare the maximum (worst) values between arms. Fisher's exact tests will be used to compare incidence rates and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests will be used to compare maximum values between arms.
Up to 28 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Mayo Clinic

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Stacy D. D'Andre, M.D., Mayo Clinic in Rochester

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
June 9, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 14, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 28, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 19, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 19, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 24, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 29, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • MC211003 (Mayo Clinic in Rochester)
  • NCI-2022-02479 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))
  • 21-011969 (Other Identifier: Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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