Can cannabis prevent urological cancers? Study on 150,000 patients sheds new light

Through Johanna Skopl

A new study published in the journal Cancer Medicine examined the link between cannabis use and the risk of urinary tract cancer. Researchers analyzed the cannabis use of 151,945 individuals with cannabis use information in the UK Biobank from 2006 to 2010.

Regarding the method of the study, “raw and age-standardized incidence ratios of various urological cancers were evaluated across the entire cohort and subgroups. Cox regression was performed for survival analysis,” said the study, which was conducted by researchers from China, Britain and France.

Results: Researchers found that prior cannabis use was a “significant protective factor for renal cell carcinoma and prostate cancer in multivariate analyses.”

Another association between past cannabis use and renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer has been observed in women but not in men. The study also found no significant association between cannabis use and testicular cancer.

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko via Pexels

Conclusion: “Previous use of cannabis was associated with a lower risk of bladder cancer, renal cell carcinoma and prostate cancer,” the researchers noted. “The inverse association between cannabis and both renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer was only found in women but not in men.”

RELATED: Study: Medical cannabis may lead to reduced opioid dependence in advanced cancer patients

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, with around 52,300 new cases each year.

The study showed results similar to previous studies that found an association between cannabis use and a lower risk of developing cancers such as bladder, throat and liver cancer.

RELATED: Smoking marijuana makes you 55% less likely to get this deadly cancer

Patients with advanced cancer respond positively to medicinal cannabis, according to another study recently published in the journal Cureus, which included participants enrolled in the New York State Medicinal Cannabis Registry.

The researchers said, “The purpose of this study was to review the characteristics of patients who received medical marijuana in our outpatient palliative care program and to identify barriers to access and use of medical marijuana in this population.”

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