Moderate Lifetime Marijuana Use Associated With Reduced Risk Of Head And
Neck Cancer, Study Says
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Providence, RI: The moderate long-term use of marijuana is associated with a
reduced risk of head and neck cancers, according to the results of a
population-based case-control study published online by the journal Cancer
Prevention Research.
Investigators at Rhode Island's Brown University, along with researchers at
Boston University, Louisiana State University, and the University of
Minnesota assessed the lifetime marijuana use habits of 434 cases (patients
diagnosed with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma from nine medical
facilities) compared to 547 matched controls.
Authors reported, "After adjusting for potential confounders (including
smoking and alcohol drinking), 10 to 20 years of marijuana use was
associated with a significantly reduced risk of head and neck squamous cell
carcinoma ... [as was] moderate weekly use."
Subjects who smoked marijuana and consumed alcohol and tobacco (two known
high risk factors for head and neck cancers) also experienced a reduced risk
of cancer, the study found.
"Our study suggests that moderate marijuana use is associated with reduced
risk of HNSCC," investigators concluded. "This association was consistent
across different measures of marijuana use (marijuana use status, duration,
and frequency of use). ... Further, we observed that marijuana use modified
the interaction between alcohol and cigarette smoking, resulting in a
decreased HNSCC risk among moderate smokers and light drinkers, and
attenuated risk among the heaviest smokers and drinkers. ... Despite our
results being consistent with the point estimates from other studies, there
remains a need for this inverse association to be confirmed by further work,
especially in studies with large sample sizes."
A separate 2006 population case-control study also reported that lifetime
use of cannabis was not positively associated with cancers of the lung or
aerodigestive tract, and noted that certain moderate users of the drug
experienced a reduced cancer risk compared to non-using controls.
By contrast, a study published earlier this week in the journal Cancer
Epidemiology reports that even the moderate use of alcohol (six drinks or
less per week) is associated with an elevated risk of various cancers –
including stomach cancer, rectal cancer, and bladder cancer.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director,
at: p...@norml.org. Full text of the study, "A population-based case control
study of marijuana use and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma," will
appear in Cancer Prevention Research.

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