Scientists at the University of Southern California detected a link between recreational marijuana use and a greater chance of testicular cancer among males in their early teens through their mid-30s, specifically, a particularly dangerous form called nonseminoma . The findings were published in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, and suggested that even marijuana for medical use should be considered carefully against the increased risk of cancer. Researchers analyzed the recreational drug use of 163 young men who had been diagnosed with testicular cancer. Among those patients who admitted to using marijuana, just over half (51 percent) told medical researchers that they ingested cannabis more than once a week. They found that found that men with a history of using marijuana were twice as likely to have more severe forms of cancer.
Scientists aren’t certain what it is about marijuana exactly that could lead to cancer. One theory is that it has to do with the system, where there are cannabinoid receptors that interact with the THC in marijuana to make people feel high. Endocannabinoids are molecules that, like THC, bind to and activate cannabinoid receptors. Unlike THC, however, endocannabinoids are produced naturally by cells in the body. This same system has been shown to be vital in the formation of sperm.
Opinions on this are divided, particularly as there is of yet no explanation for the findings. Critics point to a study from Madrid, Spain, that claimed marijuana could actually fight cancer. A biologist at Complutense University in Madrid was studying cell metabolism when she noticed that brain cancer cells died when they were exposed to THC. In a 2006 study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, researchers administered pure THC by way of a catheter into the tumors of nine hospitalized patients with glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer of the brain and spinal cord, who had not responded to standard brain-cancer therapies. The results showed that THC treatment was associated with significantly reduced tumor cell proliferation in all of the test subjects.
Similarly, Harvard University scientists reported that THC slows tumor growth in lung cancer and reduces the cancer’s ability to spread. THC also selectively targets and destroys tumor cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed, unlike conventional chemotherapy drugs that are highly toxic and indiscriminately damage the brain and body.
It’s impossible to say which side is correct without further studies. The testicular cancer group was a relatively small sample size, and there’s no actual evidence of causation, but there are undoubtedly some harmful side effects related to chronic marijuana use, even if cancer is not among them. The truth is that any treatment can potentially have side effects – just listen to the list of warnings in a prescription drug commercial – and patients and doctors will have to weigh the benefits and risks.
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