United States: Those who use marijuana daily for years may be at a three to five times greater likelihood of developing general cancers in the head and neck region, according to a fresh study based on millions of patients’ records.
More about the study
According to Dr. Niels Kokot, a senior study author and a professor of clinical otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, “Our research shows that people who use cannabis, particularly those with a cannabis use disorder, are significantly more likely to develop head and neck cancers compared to those who do not use cannabis,” as abc7.com reported.
Cannabis use disorder is defined by the presence of two or more of such features as craving for weed, tolerance, using more than desired, using marijuana despite adverse consequences, using marijuana in dangerous contexts, withdrawal, and inability to stop, among others, as defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As per Kokot, “While our study did not differentiate between methods of cannabis consumption, cannabis is most commonly consumed by smoking,” and “The association we found likely pertains mainly to smoked cannabis.”
More about the findings
National Cancer Institute indicates that if diagnosed with oral or throat cancer, a person has an average of 69 percent probability of surviving five years after the diagnosis.
If the cancer metastasizes, that rate is a mere 14 percent. It is projected that approximately sixty-one percent of larynx cancer patients will survive their diseases for five years after being diagnosed, a rate that falls to sixteen percent if the cancer has progressed.
It analyzed insurance data to examine the link between cannabis use disorder and head and neck cancer, said Dr. Joseph Califano from the University of California. He was not part of the study.
The study used insurance data to look at the association of cannabis use disorder with head and neck cancers, said Dr. Joseph Califano, the Iris and Matthew Strauss Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Head and Neck Surgery at the University of California, San Diego. He was not involved in the study, as abc7.com reported.
According to Califano, who is also the director of UC San Diego’s Hanna and Mark Gleiberman Head and Neck Cancer Center, “The researchers used a huge, huge dataset, which is really extraordinary, and there is enormous power in looking at numbers this large when we typically only see small studies,”
“On average, people with cannabis use disorder smoke about a joint a day and do so for at least a couple years, if not longer,” he said as he continued.
Although the study did not find any link between “the occasional recreational use of marijuana and head and neck cancer,” said Califano.
What are the reasons behind neck and head cancer?
As per the National Foundation for Cancer Research Head and neck cancers amounts to 4 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the United States.
The major reasons cited are smoking, chewing of cigars, pipes as well as other smokeless products, and the use of alcohol for causing head and neck cancers in the view of specialists.
Other risk factors involve are poor oral hygiene, gastroesophageal reflux disease, commonly abbreviated as GERD, a weakened immune system, and a diet that lacks fruits and vegetables. Hazardous substances identified in the occupations under study are asbestos and wood dust.