Smoking Marijuana Reduces Your Chances of Getting This Deadly Cancer by 55%

Through Nina Zdinjak

According to a study published this year in the medical journal Cureus, marijuana users have a 55% reduced risk of developing one of the most common malignancies worldwide – hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

HCC is considered the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and based on a study analyzing data from millions of people in the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database, cannabis users have a significantly reduced chance of developing the disease.

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Georgetown University Hospital and Cleveland Clinic researchers, who led the study, said the association between HCC and marijuana has already been established in Ice, but to their knowledge has not yet been confirmed in humans.

The study used data from the NIS database between 2002 and 2014 and included a total of 101.23 million patients. Of the total number, 996,290 were patients who used marijuana, while the control group comprised 100.23 patients who did not use cannabis.

“We found that patients with cannabis abuse were younger (34 vs 48 years), more males (61.7% vs 41.4%) and more African American (29.9% vs 14.2%) than the control group (P<0.001 for all). . In addition, patients with cannabis use had more hepatitis B, hepatitis C, liver cirrhosis, and smoking, but less obesity and gallstones," the study authors said.

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And while the study found that “patients abusing cannabis were 55% less likely to have HCC compared to patients not abusing cannabis,” the researchers emphasized that this only confirms the correlation and that they could not definitively confirm direct causation .

“We propose prospective clinical studies to better understand the mechanism by which various compounds, particularly CBD in cannabis, may regulate the development of hepatocellular carcinoma,” they wrote.

Pre-clinical study showing cannabinoid therapies stop liver cancer growth

While this study does not confirm that marijuana can protect people’s livers from HCC, other recent studies agree closely with the proposal. In April, biotech company Can-Fite BioPharma completed preclinical studies showing that cannabinoid-based therapies halt the growth of liver cancer. The studies showed that the CBD-rich T3/C15 cannabis fraction inhibited the growth of HEP-3b hepatocellular liver carcinoma cells via the A3AR by inhibiting Wnt- and NF-kappa B-related regulatory pathways. The Company’s lead drug candidate, namodenosone, is expected to enter the Phase 3 study in Q4 2021.

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Previous studies on marijuana and cancer

colon cancer: In March, Cannabotech, an Israeli biotech company developing medical products based on cannabis and mushroom extracts, reported results of a cell model study showing that its “integrative colon” products killed over 90% of colon cancer cells. Integrative-Colon products are based on a combination of several cannabinoids from the cannabis plant and various mushroom extracts.

Pancreatic Cancer: Experiments performed on a cell model showed that a herbal drug based on an extract of the fungus Cyathus striatus and a cannabinoid extract from the cannabis plant eliminated 100% of pancreatic cancer cells relatively selectively and without damaging normal cells. The results were published in April 2022.

breast cancer: A study conducted by Hadassah Medical Center physicians and published in December found a sixfold improvement in breast cancer cell killing when using certain of Cannabotech’s medicinal cannabis products in combination with standard oncology treatments and drug protocols such as biological and hormonal chemotherapy over existing treatment.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.