Marijuana use and testicular cancer

Young men who began using marijuana as adolescents or who smoked pot at least once a week were twice as likely as those who never used the drug to develop testicular cancer, according to researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

The association was strongest with nonseminoma, an aggressive, fast-growing subtype of testicular cancer that typically strikes men between ages 20 and 35.

"It's not just that you develop testicular cancer, but you develop a worse type of testicular cancer," said Dr. Glen Justice, director of the cancer center at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley, who was not involved with the study.

About 40% of testicular cancers are nonseminomas. The rest are slower-growing seminomas, which tend to occur a decade or two later, when men are in their 30s and 40s. Since the 1950s, both kinds have increased by 3% to 6% a year in the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Various studies have looked for environmental or lifestyle changes that could account for the increase. The study published online today in the journal Cancer was the first to look at marijuana, its authors said.

Researchers interviewed 371 men aged 18 to 44 who had been diagnosed with testicular cancer. They interviewed an additional 979 men of the same age group and from the same three Washington counties who did not have cancer.

The researchers found a 70% higher risk of testicular cancer in those who were using pot at the time of diagnosis, with an even higher risk associated with younger age at first use and frequency of use. Hormonal changes during puberty are thought to make that a particularly vulnerable period for environmental influences.

The findings were independent of known risk factors such as undescended testes and a family history of testicular cancer, and adjusted for cigarette smoking and alcohol use.

The senior author of the study, epidemiologist Janet R. Daling, got the idea to look at marijuana after learning that the testes, like the brain, have receptors for tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical component of the marijuana high.

The researchers did not know why the association was seen with nonseminoma but not seminoma, because both subtypes have increased. In the U.S., the rise in seminoma has outpaced that in nonseminoma, but the opposite is true in the Netherlands.

Whether slow-growing or aggressive, testicular cancer is highly curable, Justice said, especially when detected early.

--Mary Engel

Photo credit: Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Becca]

I am so tired of all these misguided government-funded studies. This country is in horrible shape, mainly because our government is taking advantage of our trust.

There is now so much free information available to the public via the Internet, etc. Has their been any case of a pot-related death other than a random unfortunate accident? Hard drugs, alcohol and cigarette smoking seem to be much worse culprits, but even the studies about their harm I am second guessing.

Look at Europe, where they smoke and drink much more than here in the U.S. Here we send people to religious-based 12-step programs. Maybe it's more of the Puritanical influence here than anything else.

I've decided to STOP listening to the government "experts." It seems they really don't know what they are talking about anyway. Just today it was announced that our trusty cure-all multivitamins don't do much to save your life.

Just do what you want, just don't hurt anyone.

[Jake]

but before all of you guys start bashing Marijuana you might want to read the whole thing. "The findings were independent of known risk factors such as undescended testes and a family history of testicular cancer". Thats with anything this study has nothing to do with marijuana is it just another way to get marijuana as the bad drug. If your family has had a history of a bad liver are we gonna say that from alcohol? If you have a family history of a disease then you are going to be more likely to get it. Nothing to do with marijuana its just alot of people that smoke it so yeah there will be bull studies like this that come out. I say you do studies on alcohol and tobacoo, them to substances are far worst them marijuana and marijuana has medical value. legalize it, give america the billions of dollers each year to help us out of this whole we are in.

[medical 'resarchers' are social engineers]

Yeah, right. Remember the falsified studies on correlating tobacco use with cancer? More of the same from money-hungry 'reserachers' looking for 'fame and fortune'. Doll was an asbestos industry shill, remember that! When will the sham pseudo-science stop!

[keith]

I thought weed just made you stupid and useless, now it spays you as well. Darwinism is a wonderful thing.

[Z]

Bob1421 and you know it is directly related HOW?

If this is true and people smoked weed as much as claimed in the 70's. Why are there not more men with testicular cancer now? Bunch oh BS to me.

[bobby ricigliano]

How can they be sure it's not Peanut Butter Cups that cause cancer?

[yermawm]

At one point the propaganda machine backed by W.R. Hearst, and DuPont maintained that "mexicans" were crazy, and smoked pot, therefore pot made them crazy. Classic democratic tyranny of the majority...They're witches! Burn them!

Illicit drugs still kill fewer people than Pharmaceuticals, drug related law enforcement activities, and Mafia/Gang related activities, all of which are results of the prohibition. The original Prohibition failed, and was a Constitutional Amendment. This "Drug War" will NEVER, EVER work either, and is a big fat waste of our money.

You want to reduce the budget deficits? Start here.

[Robert O'Connor]

More Propaganda - 99% of all cancer patients drank milk as child at least once!
99% of all lung cancer patients once saw someone smoking!

[Taggart]

More shameless smoking-Nazi propaganda. The folks trying to ban tobacco in California would put Goebbels to shame.

[John P]

This same group of scientists also declared that excess masterbation leads to cancer.

I can't wait for the doors to finally shut on the L.A. Times! Truly irresponsible journalism for the sake of spreading propaganda.

[Calvin Palmer]

"It's not just that you develop testicular cancer, but you develop a worse type of testicular cancer," said Dr. Glen Justice, director of the cancer center at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley, who was not involved with the study.

Yet another medic who forgot to engage brain before opening his mouth.

The research does not suggest marijuana causes testicular but that there MAY be a link.

Good to see that health fascism is alive and well in California.

Check out
http://calvininjax.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/cannabis-smokers-have-increased-risk-of-testicular-cancer/

[ReelBusy]

Bad science and bad reporting means the LA Times is on the case again....
This is such a flawed study it's not even funny.
Nice of your reporters to repeat what they have been told without doing any research on the test or the testers.
This is why newspapers are going out of business.
They stopped being journalists when they became parrots.

[Jeff]

I have long experience working with people with drug problems. I have noticed that they often refuse to believe what is obvious; they ignore evidence when it is right before them; they attack the messenger; and they are very paranoid. It would be laughable that so many respondents have attacked the Times, or the researchers that the Times is reporting on, for reporting that smoking marijuana may be bad--it would be laughable if it weren't so sad. Don't believe them, Times: not everyone smokes, not everyone agrees that marijuana is harmless, and certainly not everyone thinks that the release of another study showing the dangers of breathing smoke (from whatever source) is part of an evil conspiracy.

[IonaTrailer]

Testicular cancer??? Good thing I'm a girl.

Now, where are my rolling papers???

[Alex M]

You can't rely on self-reporting to study Marijuana. First, what one person smokes as Marijuana may contain different compounds than the Marijuana that another person smokes. They may have been grown with different fertilizers, different water, etc. The Cannabis these people smoked could have different cannabanoids in different varieties as well.

More junk science.

[Art]

I'm 44 and my testicles are working fine. Where's my bong?

[can]

Hahaha.

,,,

[jggrimm]

I agree with Joseph, and many others... a very suspect report. Has anyone evaluated the damage to health and well being of all the people thrown into jail and prison for all these decades for the 'crime' of possession. Has anyone assessed the social and economic destruction caused by a governmental obsession with the evil weed? For those of us who have seen our loved ones decimated by many forms of cancer, this report rings hollow.

[Tannim]

Pure correlative study and not causal, therefore it's garbage. Cancer is caused by the body's pH being out of whack, causing the cells to go whacky. Very old news. Did they study THAT factor? Nope. They were paid to produce a predetermined result. Besides, MJ cures cancer, and that has been known for at least 35 years, which is why it has been suppressed--Big Pharma can't patent and profit from a plant!

While I like the PBJ reference above, think of it this way: 100% of those surveyed died or will die. Therefore the definite leading cause of death is...life!

[L Derly Weedster]

You wanna know what the real problem with pot is? That it's ILLEGAL.

[Rick]

"OK kids, sure smoking marijuana might make you the fastest swimmer alive, or even President of the free world, but your nuts will fall off! Is that what you want?!" -Government

[Alicia]

Testicles are overrated anyway. Sour Diesel. Er, grapes.

[Bill]

Is anybody out there tracking the number of marijuana related arrests made in this country on a weekly or monthly basis. Seems like the only business to be in these days is in the field of correction and law enforcement. I wonder just how many of these law enforcement officers go home each night and drink themselves to sleep. To legalize or not to legalize. That is the question.

[topper]

The scientists that fingered the marijuana as the culprit ought to have considered it might be excessive munching of the potato chips, candy bars, soda and other chemical laden processed foods.

[unico]

i dunno. i know weed smoke is bad as it blackens my lungs and does other damage. and now to find out my nuts also are receptive to THC... woahhhh.

i would like more investigations on this. but they might have something going here. i wouldn't be so quick to brush this off as propaganda.