Marijuana Use May Significantly Increase Risk of Testicular Cancer

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the U.S., with 95 million Americans age 12 and older having used the drug at least once, and three out of every four illegal drugs users reporting its use within the previous 30 days. Most users perceive marijuana as a natural herb thereby believing it to be harmless.

In truth, the habitual use of marijuana has been proven to cause concentration and thinking problems, deficits in mathematical skills and verbal expression, as well as selective impairments in memory retrieval processes. It can also lead to increased anxiety, panic attacks, depression, and other mental health problems. The long-term consequences of using marijuana include poor academic performance, poor job performance, cognitive deficits, and even lung damage.

New U.S. research has now added to the ever-growing list of dangers associated with the use of marijuana. The new study has shown that people who frequently use marijuana may be at more than double the risk of developing testicular cancer.

The study included 369 men from the Seattle-Puget Sound area who had been diagnosed with testicular cancer as well as 979 men without the disease. The study participants ranged in age from 18 to 44. Each participant was asked about his history of marijuana use. The findings revealed that current marijuana users were 70 percent more likely to develop a testicular malignancy than nonusers.

The risk was shown to be highest among those who had used marijuana for at 10 years or longer or began their usage before age 18 as well as those currently using it more than once a week. In addition, the study results suggested that a specific type of testicular cancer known as nonseminoma was linked to the drug’s use. Nonseminoma is a fast-progressing testicular malignancy that accounts for approximately 40 percent of all testicular cancer cases and most often develops in people between the ages of 20 and 35. The results of the analysis were published in the journal Cancer.

Research group member Stephen Schwartz, an epidemiologist and member of the Public Health Sciences Division at the Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said, “Our study is not the first to suggest that some aspect of a man's lifestyle or environment is a risk factor for testicular cancer, but it is the first that has looked at marijuana use.”

Although experts remain uncertain as to the causes of testicular cancer, known risk factors include a family history of the disease, undescended testes and abnormal testicular development. The link between marijuana use and the disease may be attributed to a disruption of the effects of a chemical that is naturally produced by the male reproductive system believed to have a protective effect against cancer.

Approximately 8,000 men within the U.S. are diagnosed with testicular cancer annually. According to the American Cancer Society, The disease has a five-year survival rate of about 96 percent as it usually responds well to treatment. However, some patients are not diagnosed until the disease is in its advanced stages. Performing regular testicular self-examinations can help to insure successful treatment by identifying growths that are still in the early stages.