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Cannabis smokers face LOWER risk of head and neck cancer?
The Examiner Wednesday 12 Aug 2009 Much has been made of a 1999 study which indicated that cannabis users might face some elevated risk of head and neck cancers. However, even the researchers from that study cautioned against making too much of their results and called for further study. However, two recent studies indicate that, not only do cannabis users face no increased risk of head and neck cancers, they seem to enjoy a measure of protection, as witnessed by a reduced risk for head and neck cancers among moderate cannabis users. Moreover, that protection seems to extend to those who smoke tobacco and drink alcohol. In the first study, a team of researchers set out to determine whether cannabis smoking actually increases the risk of head and neck cancer. The research team included S. Aldington, M. Harwood, B. Cox, M. Weatherall, A. Pritchard, G. Robinson, L. Beckert, A. Hansell, and R. Beasley, along with nearly 20 other collaborators. The group used hospital databases and the Cancer Registry to identify cases of head and neck cancer in patients aged 55 years or under, and to compare those cases to a control group randomly selected from completed interviewer-administered questionnaires. They designed a case-control study that used logistic regression analysis assess relative risk levels for head and neck cancer. The team followed 75 cases and 319 controls. They found elevated cancer risks associated with tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and lower income but none with cannabis use. Even heavy cannabis users (>8.3 joint years) showed only a statistically insignificant increase in cancer risk (relative risk = 1.6, 95% confidence interval, 0.5-5.2), after adjusting for confounding variables. The results showed that cannabis users faced no greater risk of head and neck cancer compared to controls. However, due of the limited power and length of use studied, a small or longer-term effect cannot be ruled out. In the second study, researchers conducted a comprehensive population-based case-control study of marijuana use and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The research team was made up of C. Liang, M. D. McClean, C. Marsit, B. Christensen, E. Peters, H. H. Nelson, K. T. Kelsey of the Department of Community Health, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Division of Biology and Medicine at Brown University. Scientists recognize the fact that cannabinoids, the active components of marijuana smoke, have potential antitumor properties. However, clinical evidence on the exact relationship between marijuana use and the induction of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has been inconsistent and conflicting. The Brown University study looked at 434 patients with incident HNSCC disease from nine medical facilities in the Greater Boston area between December 1999 and December 2003. They matched a group of 547 control subjects for age (+/-3 years), gender, and town of residence, randomly selected from Massachusetts town books. Participants answered a questionnaire on lifetime marijuana use that detailed decade-specific exposures, and were evaluated using unconditional logistic regression. After adjusting for potential confounding factors (including tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption), the research team found that 10 to 20 years of marijuana use was associated with a significantly REDUCED risk of HNSCC [odds ratio (OR)(10-<20 years versus never users), 0.38; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.22-0.67]. Among marijuana users moderate weekly use was associated with reduced risk (OR(0.5-<1.5 times versus <0.5 time), 0.52; 95% CI, 0.32-0.85). The magnitude of reduced risk was more pronounced for those who started use at an older age (OR(15-<20 years versus never users), 0.53; 95% CI, 0.30-0.95; OR(> or =20 years versus never users), 0.39; 95% CI, 0.17-0.90; P(trend) < 0.001). These inverse associations held independent of human papillomavirus 16 antibody status. However, for the subjects who have the same level of smoking or alcohol drinking, we observed attenuated risk of HNSCC among those who use marijuana compared with those who do not. The data from this study shows that moderate marijuana use is associated with reduced risk of HNSCC. Basically, both of these studies support a growing body of data that indicate cannabis to have anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties. Clearly, further study is warranted. http://www.examiner.com/x-8543-SF-Health-News-Examiner~y2009m8d11-Cannabis-smokers-face-LOWER-risk-of-head-and-neck-cancer
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