Daily marijuana use over extended periods may lead to heightened risk of head and neck cancers, new study indicates.
“Recent research examining millions of medical records revealed that people with cannabis use disorder – marked by symptoms like intense cravings, tolerance, and withdrawal – are three to five times more prone to developing these cancers compared to those who don’t use cannabis.”
Cannabis use disorder is diagnosed when a person exhibits two or more symptoms as defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including intense cravings, reduced effects over time, excessive use, continued use despite negative consequences, and difficulty quitting.
According to Dr Niels Kokot, a professor of clinical otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, 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. “While our study did not differentiate between methods of cannabis consumption, cannabis is most commonly consumed by smoking, The association we found likely pertains mainly to smoked cannabis.”
Some 69 percent of people with a diagnosis of oral or throat cancer will survive five years or longer after their diagnosis, according to the National Cancer Institute. If the cancer metastasizes, however, that rate drops to 14 percent. About 61 percent of people diagnosed with cancer of the larynx will be alive five years later – a rate that drops to 16 percent if the cancer spreads.
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. “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,” said Califano, also the director of University of California, San Diego’s Hanna and Mark Gleiberman Head and Neck Cancer Center.
“People with cannabis use disorder typically smoke around one joint per day, and have been doing so for at least two years or more,” Califano said, coauthor of an editorial in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery that accompanies the new study.
“However, the research found no link between occasionally recreational marijuana use and an increased risk of head and neck cancer.”
