Statistics show that incidences of testicular cancer in the US, UK and Australia have been steadily rising year after year at a rate of between 3 – 6 percent since the 1950’s. In fact, rates of the disease have doubled in the last 30 years. Now, new research conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Washington suggests that these steadily increasing rates could be linked to the growing use of Marijuana over the same period.
The study published in the journal Cancer, compared Marijuana use amongst 369 men diagnosed with testicular cancer and the use of the drug in 979 healthy men of the same ages. Their findings suggest that regular users of Marijuana have a 70 percent increased risk of developing a nonseminoma – the most aggressive form of testicular cancer, which accounts for around 40 percent of all cases of the disease.
According to the researchers, the risk of developing this aggressive form of testicular cancer is even greater for those who either smoke Marijuana more than once a week or have a history of usage starting in adolescence. For these men, their odds of developing a nonseminoma testicular tumour rise 2.3 fold compared to those who’ve never used the drug.
Dr. Janet Daling, lead author of the study suggests that early users of the drug may be at an elevated risk of developing nonseminoma testicular cancer due to a ‘window of opportunity’ following puberty when young men are more susceptible to environmental factors – including the main chemicals (cannabinoids) in Marijuana.
In fact, previous research has shown that along with the brain, the testicles have receptors that respond to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – the primary cannabinoid in Marijuana. And because the testicles produce an ant-carcinogenic substance very similar to cannabinoids, the researchers suggest that the presence of THC in the testicles from Marijuana may interfere with these natural anti-tumour defenses.
The increased odds of developing testicular cancer from the use of the drug were, according to the researchers, independent of other known risk factors, which include family history of the disease, undescended testicles in early childhood as well as previous trauma to the testes.
Strangely however, although the study reported a strong link between aggressive nonseminoma testicular tumours and frequent Marijuana use, the same was not true for the more common and less aggressive seminoma tumours, which account for 60 percent of all cases of the disease. Here, the researchers recorded no link at all. This is despite the fact that incidences of both types of testicular cancer have been growing at the same rate over the years.
Although studies have previously linked smoking Marijuana to a reduction in sperm count and motility, this new research is the first to suggest a direct link between the use of the drug and aggressive nonseminoma type testicular cancer. However, the researchers also note that at present, the link between the two is tenuous and requires further investigation before it can be fully verified.
Source: The Independent
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