Risk of head and neck cancer reduced in cannabis users in large epidemiological study
Liang C, McClean MD, Marsit C, Christensen B, Peters E, Nelson HH, Kelsey KT.
A Population-Based Case-Control Study of Marijuana Use and Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Cancer Prev Res (Phila Pa).
28 Jul 2009
Risk of head and neck cancer reduced in cannabis users in large epidemiological study
A working group of scientists of several universities of the USA (universities of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Louisiana, and
Minnesota) investigated the effects of cannabis use on the development of a certain head and neck cancer (head and neck squamous cell carcinoma).
Information of cannabis use by 434 patients was compared with data of 547 healthy subjects. After adjusting for potential other risk factors (including tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking), cannabis use was associated with a statistically significant decrease of this cancer. The risk was decreased by 48 per cent.
This association was consistent across different measures of cannabis use (current/former use, duration, and frequency of use).
For participants, who used the drug for 10 to 20 years the risk was about one-third of that of non-users. The magnitude of the reduced risk was more pronounced for those who started use after 20 years of age compared to younger age. Authors concluded that their "study suggests that moderate marijuana use is associated with reduced risk" of sqamous cell carcinoma of head and neck. They noted that experimental data have shown that cannabinoids inhibit cancer growth.
Source: IACM-Bulletin of 2 August 2009
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