Therapeutic use of cannabidiol in endometriosis: literature review

Maria Eduarda Leão, Ana Sophia Petry Strobel, Analícia Neves Fiorentino, A Lipiński, Camily Schvetcher, João Francisco Pozzebon Dotto, Marcela Pereira Rohden, Maria Eduarda Zen Biz, Melissa Becker Trois, Renan de Almeida Benedito, VITÓRIA CAROLINA RODRIGUES COELHO
In: International Journal of Health Science · 2023 · vol. 3(41) , pp. 2–10 · doi:10.22533/at.ed.1593412301064 · W4379383878
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This review examined endometriosis treatments and found that cannabis-based drugs improve pain and quality of life, offering an alternative to conventional therapies like NSAIDs and opioids.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 · read from full text ⓘ

This narrative literature review examined existing therapies for endometriosis and focused on cannabidiol as a potential new therapeutic approach, drawing on 37 articles published from 2004 to 2022 (literature search conducted March–May 2023) using databases including SciELO, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus. The review describes variable endometriosis symptom profiles (e.g., dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, chronic pelvic pain, fatigue, and urinary or intestinal complaints) and notes that early management in minimally symptomatic cases may involve progestogens or combined oral contraceptives. Across the included studies, it reports evidence that cannabis/cannabidiol is associated with improvements in pain and quality of life, better sleep quality, reduced nausea/vomiting, and decreased analgesic use, with opioids being the most commonly discontinued class, while also emphasizing that NSAIDs and opioids are mainstays but may have harms with chronic use. As a narrative review, it does not provide a standardized systematic-methods synthesis or quantitative effect estimates. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — specifically, it reviews therapeutic uses of cannabidiol in endometriosis management.

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Abstract

Objective: Expose existing therapies for the treatment and monitoring of endometriosis, delving into the use of cannabidiol as a new therapeutic form.Methods: A narrative review of the literature was carried out based on 37 articles that ranged between 2004 and 2022 between March and May 2023.The bibliography included the Portuguese and English languages, preferably from the last 5 years, and were taken from the SciElo databases, PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus.Results: The clinical picture of endometriosis is variable.Symptoms are associated with dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, infertility, chronic pelvic pain, chronic fatigue, ovulatory pain, urinary or intestinal complaints.In patients in whom the clinical condition of endometriosis is minimal, initial treatment can be with progestogens or combined oral contraceptives (OC).There is evidence that cannabis acts to improve pain, quality of life and decrease complications.The vast majority report improvement in sleep quality, decrease in symptoms of nausea and vomiting.Added to this, they were able to completely discontinue medication use, with opioids being the most common class of discontinued analgesics.Current treatment options for endometriosis often affect fertility and can cause undesirable side effects that preclude long-term management of this condition.Conclusion: The main treatments are based on NSAIDs and opioids and, if used chronically, they can cause harm.Therefore, cannabis-based drugs are alternatives to conventional therapies, as they improve pain symptoms, enabling quality of life and reducing complications.
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Objective

Expose existing therapies for the treatment and monitoring of endometriosis, delving into the use of cannabidiol as a new therapeutic form. Methods: A narrative review of the literature was carried out based on 37 articles that ranged between 2004 and 2022 between March and May 2023. The bibliography included the Portuguese and English languages, preferably from the last 5 years, and were taken from the SciElo databases, PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus. Results: The clinical picture of endometriosis is variable. Symptoms are associated with dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, infertility, chronic pelvic pain, chronic fatigue, ovulatory pain, urinary or intestinal complaints. In patients in whom the clinical condition of endometriosis is minimal, initial treatment can be with progestogens or combined oral contraceptives (OC). There is evidence that cannabis acts to improve pain, quality of life and decrease complications. The vast majority report improvement in sleep quality, decrease in symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Added to this, they were able to completely discontinue medication use, with opioids being the most common class of discontinued analgesics. Current treatment options for endometriosis often affect fertility and can cause undesirable side effects that preclude long-term management of this condition. Conclusion: The main treatments are based on NSAIDs and opioids and, if used chronically, they can cause harm. Therefore, cannabis-based drugs are alternatives to conventional therapies, as they improve pain symptoms, enabling quality of life and reducing complications. Therapeutic use of cannabidiol in endometriosis: literature review - DOI: 10.22533/at.ed.1593412301064 - Palavras-chave: endometriosis, cannabidiol, therapeutic uses. -

Keywords

endometriosis, cannabidiol, therapeutic uses. -

Abstract

Objective: Expose existing therapies for the treatment and monitoring of endometriosis, delving into the use of cannabidiol as a new therapeutic form. Methods: A narrative review of the literature was carried out based on 37 articles that ranged between 2004 and 2022 between March and May 2023. The bibliography included the Portuguese and English languages, preferably from the last 5 years, and were taken from the SciElo databases, PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus. Results: The clinical picture of endometriosis is variable. Symptoms are associated with dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, infertility, chronic pelvic pain, chronic fatigue, ovulatory pain, urinary or intestinal complaints. In patients in whom the clinical condition of endometriosis is minimal, initial treatment can be with progestogens or combined oral contraceptives (OC). There is evidence that cannabis acts to improve pain, quality of life and decrease complications. The vast majority report improvement in sleep quality, decrease in symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Added to this, they were able to completely discontinue medication use, with opioids being the most common class of discontinued analgesics. Current treatment options for endometriosis often affect fertility and can cause undesirable side effects that preclude long-term management of this condition. Conclusion: The main treatments are based on NSAIDs and opioids and, if used chronically, they can cause harm. Therefore, cannabis-based drugs are alternatives to conventional therapies, as they improve pain symptoms, enabling quality of life and reducing complications. - Carolina Monte Santo Burdman Pereira - Maria Eduarda Leão - Ana Sophia Petry Strobel - Analícia Neves Fiorentino - Anna Luísa Lipinski - Camily Schvetcher - João Francisco Pozzebon Dotto - Marcela Pereira Rohden - Maria Eduarda Zen Biz - Melissa Becker Trois - Renan de Almeida Benedito - Vitória Carolina Rodrigues Coelho

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Condition tags

endometriosischronic_pelvic_paindysmenorrheadyspareuniainfertility

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (29)

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