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Marijuana, testicular cancer link is found
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| bscarbro |
Not looking to good for a lot of us TAs : (
Marijuana, testicular cancer link is found
Young men who began using marijuana as adolescents or who smoke pot at least once a week appear to be twice as likely to develop testicular cancer as those who never used the drug.
The association, as reported by researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, 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 ages 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. |
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| able.h |
| NoooooooooOOOOooOooOOOoOOooOOOoOooooo!!!!! :nervous: :nervous: :nervous: :nervous: |
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| skizzell |
This is bs propaganda.
They asked 400 testicular cancer patients if they've smoked pot. 26% said yes. A poll is not a scientific study. |
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| Clovis |
| Smoke is a carcinogen. Big whoop. |
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| Waterproofpaper |
Thats why we vaporize :D
But its okay.. everything gives you cancer nowadays... |
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| djjoshuaallen |
my balls hurt just reading that
*proceeds to rub them* |
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| Clovis |
| I'm pretty sure theres a link between fast food and every cancer known to man. |
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| costizzle |
| shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit |
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| R!CH |
| if your balls have thc receptors like your brain and smoking weed is somehow linked to ball cancer because of it, then shouldn't it suggest that smoking weed is linked to a much higher risk of brain cancer as well? especially considering how much more thc-rich blood flows through your brain than your balls? so where is the link to brain cancer? could it be that those people interviewed who smoke weed at a young age and continue to do so at an old age are just prone to high-risk behavior and that it could be other uncontrolled lifestyle factors that contribute to their risk? or could it be that the thc in my brain is planting this crazy idea in my head to invalidate the research so i can keep smoking without concern? |
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| Electrophile |
| quote: | Originally posted by Clovis
I'm pretty sure theres a link between fast food and every cancer known to man. |
You are right, the link is called trans-fat. See for yourself here |
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| snatonsb |
| Please tell me this isn't true cause I blaze so much lol. :eyespop: |
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| R!CH |
| quote: | The risk of testicular cancer among white men is about 5 times that of black men and more than 3 times that of Asian-American and American Indian men. The risk for Hispanics/Latinos falls between that of Asians and non-Hispanic/Latino whites. The reason for these differences is not known. Worldwide, the risk of developing this disease is highest among men living in the United States and Europe and lowest among men living in Africa or Asia.
Since the 1950s, both kinds have increased by 3% to 6% a year in the United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. |
it sounds to me like cultural factors play a far greater role than smoking weed. factors like diet, lifestyle and genetics--which are all similar in industrialized white societies--probably have the greatest effect on testicular cancer risk. a few years ago men who ate a lot of cheese products were linked to a higher risk in testicular cancer as well.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNe...9_5/?hub=Health |
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