Daily marijuana use may increase risk of head and neck cancer

Kokot and his team have been leveraging the health records of millions of patients across 64 healthcare institutions in the United States for 20 years.

Of the patients studied, 116,076 had been diagnosed with CUD, while approximately 4 million were undiagnosed.

Patients had no history of head and neck cancer, but there were some demographic differences between patients with and without CUD.

The mean age of the CUD group was 46 years, younger than the mean age of the other groups, 60 years. Additionally, slightly fewer people diagnosed with CUD were female (44.5% vs. 54.5%).

The researchers then looked at the risk of developing all types of head and neck cancer and site-specific cancers in the two groups.

To strengthen the association, the study used multiple time frames: 1 and 5 years between cancer onset and CUD diagnosis, as well as any time between the two events.

Depending on duration, CUD patients are 3.5 to 5 times more likely to develop any form of head and neck cancer.

Laryngeal cancera type of pharyngeal cancer, had the strongest individual association with CUD, increasing risk by more than eightfold.

Oropharyngeal cancerThe risk of pharyngeal cancer, a cancer of the throat, was increased almost five-fold. Smoking a cigarette Head and neck cancer risk.

Other cancers, including oral cavity, salivary gland, and nasopharyngeal cancer, were also associated with a two- to three-fold increased risk.

Although the findings are compelling, the study has some important limitations, which Kokott acknowledges.

The hospital health records did not contain specific information about the frequency of the patients’ cannabis use, dosage, or route of administration, only that they had been diagnosed with CUD.

The authors also note that CUD is likely associated with tobacco and alcohol use, which are potential confounding factors. Although the authors attempted to control for these variables, they note that “dosage differences may remain” between those diagnosed with CUD and those not.

John B. Sunwoo, MD Seung-woo, director of head and neck cancer research at the Stanford University School of Medicine, acknowledged to Healthline that the study is powerful but has limitations.

“They tried to control for other factors by taking two different cohorts and balancing all the different potential variables, like smoking and alcohol, but alcohol use and smoking use were proportionally higher in the cannabis-using group,” Seung-woo said.

Because this study relied solely on medical records indicating that patients had CUD, no additional information was provided about cannabis use, such as frequency, potency, route of intake, etc. As a result, it was not possible to distinguish between different types of cannabis intake, such as smoking versus ingestion.

“In terms of actually looking at the method of use — whether it was edible or inhaled, amount per day or amount per week, years — there was no information like that in the databases that we looked at,” Kokotte said.

The question of whether smoking cannabis is more harmful than ingesting it remains to be answered, and there is no clear threshold for the association between frequency of cannabis use and an increased risk of head and neck cancer.

“We can't draw any conclusions about these factors,” Kokotte said, “but we'll need additional information in the next phase of research to really analyze the risk levels for different types and amounts of consumption.”

Tobacco is Biggest risk factor Alcohol consumption is associated with the highest risk of developing head and neck cancer Five-fold increase in risk For the treatment of various types of head and neck cancer.

People who consume alcohol and tobacco at the same time are at a significantly increased risk of developing head and neck cancer.

Meanwhile, studies investigating the link between cannabis and head and neck cancer have been described as inconsistent. Paul Armentanovice president of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). This lack of solid evidence is acknowledged by the study authors.

for example, 2015 Survey No association was found between cannabis use and the development of head and neck cancer. 2009 Survey,i got you The inverse relationship between the twoIt has been suggested that 'moderate' cannabis consumption is associated with a lower risk of developing head and neck cancer.

“Given the historically inconsistent results and the possibility of confounding, further studies are needed before any definitive conclusions can be made,” Armentano told Healthline.

“Meanwhile, people who consume cannabis regularly, e.g. Medical marijuana “Patients may want to consider alternative methods of administration that reduce or eliminate ingestion of combustion smoke,” he noted.

Seungwoo agreed: “This study has limitations, and I think people should be aware of those limitations,” he said, “but I also think it should encourage people to investigate further, because we just don't know.”

CUD is recognized as a mental illness However, diagnostic criteria can be vague and diagnosis is largely at the physician's discretion.

To qualify, patients must meet two of 11 criteria, which include:

• Consume large amounts of marijuana
• Cannabis cravings
• Withdrawal symptoms when not using cannabis
• The persistent desire to lose weight ends in failure
• Continuing use despite social or interpersonal problems
• Tolerance

Frequency or amount of use is not objectively defined as part of a CUD diagnosis.

New research finds that cannabis use disorder (CUD) increases the risk of developing head and neck cancer by 3.5 to 5 times.

Certain site-specific cancers, such as laryngeal cancer, have been found to have up to an eight-fold increased risk associated with CUD.

Research to date on the association between cannabis use and these types of cancer has been inconsistent, and further studies are needed to determine whether cannabis consumption affects head and neck cancer risk in a similar way to smoking.