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Smokers Of Marijuana More Likely To Get Head and Neck Cancers

• By Rich Health News Desk
• September 09, 2024

For people who smoke marijuana every day for a long time, new study shows a strong link to head and neck cancers. 

 

A new study that looked at millions of medical records found that people with cannabis use disorder—which includes signs like cravings, tolerance, and withdrawal—are three to five times more likely to get these cancers than people who don't use cannabis.

 

 The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that someone has a cannabis use problem if they have two or more of the following symptoms: strong cravings, effects that get weaker over time, using too much, continuing to use even though it's bad for them, and having a hard time quitting.

 

 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, says that research shows that people who use cannabis, especially people who have a cannabis use disorder, are much more likely to get head and neck cancers than people who don't 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.”

 

The National Cancer Institute reports that around 69% of patients diagnosed with throat or mouth cancer will have a five-year survival rate or higher. But if the cancer spreads to other parts of the body, that percentage falls to 14%. Five years after a laryngeal cancer diagnosis, 61% of patients will still be alive; however, this number plummets to 16% if the disease has spread.

 

 The study examined the correlation between cannabis use disorder and head and neck malignancies using insurance data, according to Dr. Joseph Califano of the University of California, San Diego, who holds 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. There is enormous power in looking at numbers this large when we typically only see small studies," exclaimed Califano, who is also the director of the Hanna and Mark Gleiberman Head and Neck Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego.

 

 “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,” said Califano, who coauthored an editorial published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery in conjunction with the new study.

 

 However, he added, the study does not find an association between “the occasional recreational use of marijuana and head and neck cancer.”