“Cannabis smoke contains many of the same carcinogenic compounds found in tobacco smoke, which have known damaging effects on the epithelial tissue that lines the mouth,” said Raphael Cuomo, Ph.D. associate professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and member of UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. “These findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that chronic or problematic cannabis use may contribute to cancer risk in tissues exposed to combustion products.”
By analyzing the electronic health records from over 45,000 patients, of whom 949 developed CUD, Cuomo found:
- After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index and smoking status, people had a 325 percent times higher likelihood of contracting oral cancer within five years compared to those without CUD.
- Tobacco smokers with CUD were 624 percent more likely to contract oral cancer within five years compared to tobacco smokers without CUD.
Because the association between CUD and oral cancer remained even after controlling for smoking status, and because CUD was associated with greater oral cancer risk even when the analysis was restricted to smokers, the researchers hypothesize that there may be other factors underlying this risk in addition to smoke inhalation. For example, THC, the active compound in cannabis is known to have immune-suppressing effects, which may contribute to increased cancer risk.
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