Abstract

Astrocytoma is a brain tumor that is well known for its aggressiveness and limited survival rate. Standard medical treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, but their use is associated with several long-term adverse effects. As a result, many patients are forced to interrupt their cure or to worsen their quality of life. Among the alternative therapies available to cancer patients, the combination of Melatonin (MLT), medical cannabis, and Oxygen-Ozone (O₂O₃) therapy has several advantages, both during and after the standard treatment course. In May 2017, after speech disorders and motor deficits in the right upper limb appeared in a 48-year-old Italian woman, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was performed. An expansive lesion in the cortico-subcortical brain area was detected and an isocitrate dehydrogenase 1- wild-type- diffuse anaplastic astrocytoma was diagnosed. From September to November 2017, the patient underwent the first cycle of Radio Therapy (RT) and Chemo Therapy (CT). In January 2018, the patient started O₂O₃ therapy. In July 2018, therapy was implemented with MLT and medical cannabis. In December 2018, the patient completed CT and RT but continued receiving this integrative therapy. In February 2019, a pet scan revealed no metabolically active disease in the brain and follow-up magnetic resonance imaging revealed that the lesion remained stable. After six years of integrative treatments, subsequent magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the stability of the tumor mass. This case report highlights the beneficial effects and long-term acceptability of an adjuvant therapy of medical cannabis, MLT and O₂O₃ in a clinical context characterized by se-rious difficulties in approaching a standard protocol. Following several studies in which the anti-tumoral potentials of MLT, medical cannabis and O₂O₃ therapy have been observed separately, the positive results observed in this case report may represent another step toward obtaining more innovative and less debilitating therapeutic options.

Keywords:Anaplastic astrocytoma; Medical cannabis; Melatonin; Oxygen-ozone therapy; Case report