Cannabis dependence associated with increased occurrence of head and neck cancer

A study from the USC Head and Neck Center, part of Keck Medicine of USC and the USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, suggests that cannabis, the most commonly used illicit substance worldwide, is associated with an increased occurrence of head and neck cancer. A large, multicenter study published in JAMA Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery revealed that adults with cannabis dependence, known as cannabis use disorder, are 3.5 to 5 times more likely to develop head and neck cancer than those who do not use the substance.

This is one of the first studies -; and the largest that we know of to date -; to associate head and neck cancer with cannabis use. The detection of this risk factor is important because head and neck cancer may be preventable once people know which behaviors increase their risk." Niels Kokot, MD, head and neck surgeon with the USC Head and Neck Center and senior author of the study Kokot is also a professor of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Head and neck cancer, the sixth most common cancer in the world, includes several cancers, including cancer of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, oropharynx (tongue and tonsils and back wall of the throat) and adjacent salivary glands. The researchers, including lead study author Tyler Gallagher, an MD/MPH candidate at the Keck School, discovered that those with cannabis use disorder had higher rates of all types of head and neck cancers. They also f.