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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> Along those lines, the researchers noted that the testes could be particularly vulnerable to the effects of marijuana, given that the organ -- along with the brain, heart, uterus and spleen -- carries specific receptors for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
As well, previous human and animal research has indicated that marijuana use might lead to reduced hormonal production (particularly testosterone), poorer semen quality and impotency in men.
Daling and her team explored the notion of a marijuana-testicular cancer connection by analyzing data on 369 testicular cancer patients that had been collected by the Adult Testicular Cancer Lifestyle and Blood Specimen Study.
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Participants were between the ages of 18 and 44, most were white or Hispanic, and all were residents of the Seattle-Puget Sound region. All had been diagnosed with the disease between 1999 and 2006. The men reported any history of marijuana use, as well as alcohol and smoking habits, and the same information was collected from about 1,000 healthy men.
The researchers found that current marijuana use was linked to a 70 percent increased risk for the disease.
Independent of known risk factors, nonseminoma risk was particularly high among men who used the drug at least once a week and among those who had started using it before age 18.
Though Daling emphasized that the findings are preliminary, she suggested that attention should be paid.
"We know very little about the long-term health consequences of marijuana smoking," she cautioned. "So, although this is the first time this association has been studied and found -- and the finding does need to be replicated before we are really sure what's going on -- this does give some evidence that testicular cancer may be one result from the frequent use of marijuana. And that is something that young people should keep in mind."
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