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The Party Might Be Over: Study Points to Link Between Weed and Testicular Cancer

Doc Reeves

By Doc Reeves
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Doc Reeves

Doc Reeves 6434

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-for heavy users, ie at least one joint a day per year for 10 years. 
 

https://www.inverse.com/article/61412-heavy-weed-smoking-increases-risk-of-testicular-cancer

 

Lighting up a cigarette has known cancer-causing consequences, but marijuana's link to cancer has been less understood. Now, after a meta-analysis of 25 studies, scientists say that smoking marijuana heavily for at least a decade heightens the risk of one startling disease: testicular cancer.  

Co-author Deborah Korenstein, a physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, tells Inverse that, importantly, this risk is "not huge." 

However, she does emphasize that men who currently use marijuana should be aware that regular use probably does increase this risk. Regular use in the United States is not uncommon: Approximately 13 percent of Americans say they "regularly" smoke, and this rate is higher among people between the ages of 18 and 29. 

The weed-cancer connection

The systematic literature review spans fifty years of data and was published in the journal JAMA. The review explored smoking marijuana’s potential links to dozens of types of cancer, including lung, head, neck, and urogenital cancers. 

The researchers discovered that heavy marijuana use (a daily joint for ten years) was associated with the development of testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT), which make up 95 percent of all testicular cancers. Heavy weed smokers had a 36 percent higher chance of developing TGCT than non-weed smokers, the study shows.

Korenstein explains that, presently, her team doesn't know how these results are influenced by dose or duration. One joint a day for ten years could amount to the same as five joints per day for four years. This will have to be determined in subsequent studies. 

TGCT is the most common cancer in men between ages 20 and 40, and affects about 2 percent of all men. TGCT can grow quickly: Often, men notice a small painless bump on their testicle or change in ball size. They can look for signs of TGCT using a self-exam. 

Other researchers have connected heavy cannabis use with higher incidence of testicular cancer. But in this review, the evidence for increased risk of TGCT wasn’t strong. More research is needed to confirm just how risky smoking weed is for testicular health.

What’s in a puff?

Weed smoke shares some dangerous similarities to cigarette smoke. A puff of weed and tobacco both contain carcinogens, substances capable of causing cancer in living tissue. In fact, some research shows toxic gases, such as benzo[a]pyrene and phenols, are 20 times higher in unfiltered marijuana than cigarette smoke. 

Because people tend to take larger puffs, hold their breath longer, and inhale more deeply when they smoke weed versus cigarettes, they can have higher exposure to harmful properties like tar and carbon monoxide.

Because of this dangerous overlap in the properties of cigarette and marijuana smoke, an uptick in lung cancer seems likely from heavy weed smoking. The review suggests heavy marijuana smoking may spike lung cancer, but the evidence was mixed. 

Scarce research meant the review’s authors couldn’t draw conclusions from the data about how regular marijuana use impacts the development of other types of cancer. Some research shows cannabinoids, compounds found in cannabis plants, inhibit proliferation of cancer cells. More longitudinal studies are needed to determine the relative risks and benefits linking marijuana and cancer.

However, just because the team didn’t find strong evidence showing an increased risk of other types of cancer doesn’t mean weed smokers are totally in the clear, Korenstein says. She notes that the limitations of the data preclude us from drawing firm conclusions. 

“I'd hate for people to interpret that to mean that marijuana use is completely safe,” Korenstein says. “The fact is that we don't know much about the impact of heavy use, use at a very young age, or about non-smoking use.”

Young smokers beware

Importantly,  researchers may have seen the higher rates of testicular cancer because most weed smokers are in fact young men, and often, clinical studies recruit young, university-age people to enroll in studies. 

Korenstein says that, while young smoker habits need to be further evaluated, it's possible that they are at a higher risk. 

"Testicular cancer tends to be a disease of younger men, so heavy marijuana use at an early age could be particularly risk," she says. "We just don't know." 

There are a number of unknowns: There's not enough data on women or the elderly to understand how their marijuana habits might lead to cancer, and the researcher aren't sure how the drug delivery method -- whether someone smokes, eats, or vapes weed -- influences cancer rates. 

Korenstain cautions that, because of this bulk of unknowns, people should understand that this area of study is still one of uncertainty -- and it could be possible that harmful evidence linked to smoking marijuana may not emerge for many years

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XYZ

XYZ 2154

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Wasn’t it already pretty much understood that repeatedly inhaling the products of combustion of pretty much anything would not be good for you? And also isn’t it well accepted that vaporizing is a less harmful away of using weed than smoking it? Are there still people who smoke weed regularly?

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Bolero88

Bolero88 277

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I don't know a single person who smokes an entire joint every single day. That is a lot of weed with today's potency levels. Everybody already knows that any combusted carbon is bad to intake (including BBQ, unfortunately). This study isn't saying anything we didn't already know. 

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ztejas

ztejas 43538

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On 12/4/2019 at 10:17 AM, Bolero88 said:

I don't know a single person who smokes an entire joint every single day

Plenty of people smoke that much. I've smoked that much or more at various times in my life. I'm sure there are people here that smoke at least that much. 

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achooloco

achooloco 1086

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19 hours ago, ztejas said:

Plenty of people smoke that much. I've smoked that much or more at various times in my life. I'm sure there are people here that smoke at least that much. 

For years? At times maybe but cant wrap my head around years. Months ok but not years. I mean even in college I only knew a couple who did, And everyone I knew smoked a shit load of weed.  After college I’ve really only met one person who did but that was years ago. Smoking a full joint a day everyday from 25-35 seems like a waste of effort And time. I love weed but i’d guess most former poor college students aren’t trying to waste time looking for weed once they have some expendable cash for international travel, honeymoons, kids, 14hr work days, etc.   Or maybe all my friends just turned into squares, who knows. 

 

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Armybrat

Armybrat 40912

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Lol

I never have done weed or any illegal drug. 

Just alcohol - binge drinking in high school & college -  and sparingly (Happy Hour on Wednesdays two or three times a month) in my declining years. Plus a couple of  Bloody Marys on holidays. Can’t drink brown liquors any more though, mostly vodka & tequila.

When the docs prescribed Hydrocodone or Tramadol after heart procedures, I only took one or two at home after being discharged from the hospitals. I prefer to be able to take a regular shit in the mornings.
 

 

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