Marijuana increases testicular cancer risk in men

New research suggests men who smoke marijuana have a higher risk of testicular cancer.

US researchers found that men with a testicular germ cell tumour were more likely to be current marijuana smokers at the time of diagnosis compared with non-smokers.

The risk was highest for those who used the drug at least once a week or who had started ongoing use in adolescence. Men in either or both of these categories were twice as likely as non-users to develop the cancer, the researchers found.

They noted that the link may be limited to the more aggressive nonseminoma tumours, which accounted for about 40% of testicular cancer cases.

Testicular cancer incidence has been rising by 3-6% a year in the past 50 years in Western countries.

Marijuana is already known to diminish male fertility through damage to sperm-producing cells.

Cancer 2009

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