yo.. potheads... inside >
 

Marijuana Use Tied to Testicular Cancer Risk
By KATIE MOISSE (@katiemoisse)

Sept. 10, 2012

Young men who use marijuana have a higher risk of testicular cancer, a new study found.

The study of 455 Californian men found those who had smoked pot were twice as likely to have been diagnosed with testicular germ cell tumors, the most common form of testicular cancer in men younger than 35.

"Testicular cancer is on the rise," said study author Victoria Cortessis, assistant professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles. "So we asked, 'What is it that young men are doing more frequently that could account for the increased risk?'"

Cortessis and colleagues used interviews to probe recreational drug use among 163 men diagnosed with testicular cancer and 292 healthy men of the same age, and found those who smoked marijuana had double the risk of testicular tumors compared with men who passed on grass. On top of that, their tumors tended to be faster-growing and tougher to treat.

"Most men who get testicular cancer today survive, and that's wonderful. But as a result of treatment, they may have problems with fertility or sexual function," said Cortessis. "So we're talking about the risk of developing the cancer in the first place as well as the subsequent effects of the cancer and its treatment."

The study, published today in the journal Cancer, adds to mounting evidence that smoking marijuana may have lasting effects on men's fertility and overall health.

"We now have three studies connecting marijuana use to testicular cancer, and no studies that contradict them," said Stephen Schwartz, an epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle and author of the first study linking marijuana use to testicular cancer in 2009. "I think we should start taking notice."

The National Cancer Institute estimates more than 8,500 men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2012. About 360 of them will die from it.

But how marijuana affects the risk of testicular cancer is unclear. In animal studies, marijuana smoke and the cannabis chemical tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, reduce levels of circulating hormones like testosterone.

"We know testosterone is an important regulator of testes development and function," said Cortessis. "It may be that marijuana use disrupts this regulation in a way that makes the testes much more vulnerable to cancer."

Cortessis suspects boys who experiment with marijuana during puberty might be particularly susceptible. In her study, the risk of testicular cancer was higher among men who smoked less than once a week and for fewer than 10 years.

"Guys who tried it and abandoned it may have been very young," she said, adding that her study was too small to tease out age-related risks. "We plan to investigate the possibility that men who use marijuana during puberty may be especially vulnerable, which makes sense if marijuana is disrupting the hormone signaling that directs the testes to maturity."

But other factors could be at play, as men who use marijuana are more likely to drink and use other drugs. However, Cortessis found men who used cocaine were actually less likely to develop testicular cancer ? a result that might reflect the drug's toxic effects.

"My suspicion is that the effect of cocaine is to kill the germ cells so they're not there," she said, describing how cocaine cuts testicular size and function in mice. "It's more analogous to a mastectomy to reduce the risk of breast cancer. And for a young guy, that would be high price to pay."

Cortessis and Schwartz agree more work is needed to uncover how marijuana use affects testicular cancer risk, but said men "shouldn't assume smoking marijuana has no impact on your health," according to Schwartz.

"I think at this stage of knowledge men deserve to be informed of this," said Cortessis. "It's not a huge body of work, but the results are so consistent that it's very unlikely this is due to chance."

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/CancerP...ry?id=17183711

dont bring me down with thsi shit man

Switch to crack.

lol bullshit "study"

Wait, what are you saying? That weed isn't a miracle plant sent by God to cure every disease? Because that's what every weed smoker is telling me.

Ah ofcourse. He got me worried there for a second. This HAS to be bullshit ofcourse.

Just last week an interesting study came out that said teenagers who consume marijuana end up lowering their IQs.

Then there's the fact that marijuana is the #1 gateway drug.

It's the same old story - stoners pretending that they're interested in the evil weed simply because of its 'medicinal' properties. They will say and do anything to get their fix.

HAS to be a bullshit study. Just ask any stoner.

I dont use my balls anyway :stoned

Maybe you missed the part of the article that says "But how marijuana affects the risk of testicular cancer is unclear."

lol, it's "unclear?" I thought they just did some mindblowing study that proved marijuana causes testicular cancer?

You take a few hundred people with cancer, find out that some of them used Marijuana at some point in their life, and your conclusion is that marijuana caused the cancer in all of those men? And you clowns can't see how these studies are absolute bullshit?

We all know weed is a magic plant from God so that study HAS to be bullshit.

"Evil weed" ??

lol... you don't actually believe that some random natural plant is "EVIL" do you?

Who said anything about "magic" and "God?" lol wtf...

It was a bullshit comment from him. We all know weed is a magic plant from God that basically cures anything you're suffering from.

Franck why you keep talking about magic? The way marijuana works is simple science.

The receptors in our heads for cannabinoids are 500,000,000 years old. Get fucking real.

Ctrl-C. Ctrl-V. Add link. Yay for you.

Copypasta

You're killing my buzz.

:2 cents: All I need is my penis

Smoking tobacco also increases the likelihood of testicular cancer.

Smoking is bad, m'kay kids... :rasta

Fortunately, there are safer alternatives for consuming cannabis and enjoying it's medical benefits. In particular, through vaporization and via edibles:



:stoned

ADG

Those 'medical' pot dispenaries that keep getting shut down around the country have a clientele that's 99% stoners and 1% people who have legitimate health complaints.

The 'medical marijuana' spin is a crock.

naaa pot for pain relief is not bullshit

life is painful

people want pain relief

what we are seeing is something worthwhile being abused

Maybe you should concern yourself more as to why English people are the ugliest on the planet.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/relations...eople.com.html

What does this have to do with the topic of this thread?

Anyway, quit picking on the English. A thousand plus years of island inbreeding will do "that" to any group of people. I shall remain indifferent to your taunts, though I would say that Peruvians are much uglier than we are.

there you have it folks! saeyeintific proof!

reminds me of the wanna-be doctor getting front page news for calling a bunch of poor, fat people over the phone and somehow connecting that with autism..

ignore the fact autism rates sky-rocket when in proximity of highways and freeways.. nothing saeyeintific about that

Who funded this study? Big tobacco? The private prison companies?

This is the 3rd negative 'study' about marijuana that has been put out this week. I'm sure its just coincidence that a few states are voting to legalize in less than 60 days.

nope, don't think it is... BTW I don't use drugs but damn sure don't care if you do and if you do while you are working for me you are fired.

the author is on crack

I say Bullshit. :pimp
Crap like this always makes me want to smoke two splifs immediately.

cancer is no joke

cancer is no joke, but anything can make you cancer. you dont need even smoke or drink alcohol in your life, and you can have cancer like any alcoholic or tobaco smoker. it is that easy ... :Oh crap

:thumbsup:1orglaugh
most junkies just have to justify using drugs to themselves :2 cents:

sounds like TOTAL BOLLOCKS

So they asked some people questions and one of the connections was weed? What was the health of the people who smoked weed compared to the people who don't? Do a higher % of the weed smokers smoke cigarettes compared to the non weed smokers? Are the weed smokers in this study fatter than the non-smokers? Are they more Lazy? Do they abuse more / other drugs compared to non smokers? They only tested 455 people? That doesn't seem very thorough.

Why does the researcher start all their sentences with "My suspicion", "I think", "It may", etc...

So the only issue is lower levels of testosterone? Start working out, how many in that study work out every day? How many people who smoke weed have more stressful jobs / lives / situations?

Sure it's possible that it can cause cancer in your nuts, but this study should be a little more thorough before going public with this. So many people will believe this as fact and never follow up in the next few years to see if it actually turned out to be correct...

"It's not a huge body of work, but the results are so consistent that it's very unlikely this is due to chance."

Aka, we need more funding and are publishing our shitty findings to see if there is any public interest to continue.

Marijuana users are junkies? I bet your mom wouldnt let you leave the house all through high school because you might get a whiff of marijuana somewhere and be addicted for life.

:1orglaugh

So if someone who works for you has a beer at night you fire him?

:1orglaugh

Gateway drug. You smoke the pot and next you'll be selling your asshole for crack.

lolz ciggie smokers and alcohol drinkers are addicts too as are many coffee drinkers, and imho are far more damaging than weed. In point of fact many health officials now deem THC to have anti cancerous properties among other health benefits.

total crap, I have smoked weed for more years than i care to mention and never have i been swayed to other substances

Junkie = narcotics/drugs user, so yes.

No. First of all nobody used drugs in my high school parties, it was just beer and vodka/brandy. Second of all you can not get addicted from whiff of marijuana (you probably can not get addicted even if you usmoke once or twice).

nobody is saying that its gateway drug for ALL the potheads. But for substantial amount of them - yes.

Marijuana is not a narcotic.



lol...just beer and vodka, much better.

No, you probably cannot get addicted to it using it once or twice or ten thousand times since its not addictive. Please be informed on things you act like you know about.

I was making a joke. :winkwink:

You're truly wasting your time on this guy. :food-smil02

Marijuana is drugs. Fact.

I did not say that you can get addicted (physically). You get addicted mentally though.

And I did not say that beer or vodka is better. I just said that we were no junkies in high school. You are welcome to call us alcoholics though :1orglaugh