Cannabis Usage Reduces the Risk of Bladder Cancer

In the February issue of the Journal of Urology, scientists confirmed that cannabis usage helps lower the risk of bladder cancer for males.

Bladder cancer statistics

The American Cancer Society released the following estimates associated with bladder cancer in the United States for 2015:

They expect that 74,000 new cases of bladder cancer will be diagnosed (about 56,320 in men and 17,680 in women).
- Males are 3 to 4 times more likely to develop bladder cancer than females.
- The chances of developing bladder cancer is 1 in 26 for males and 1 in 90 for females.
- Bladder cancer is the fourth most common form of cancer in males.
They expect 16,000 deaths from bladder cancer this year (about 11,510 in men and 4,490 in women).

Results of the study

The study conducted at the Department of Urology at the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center used a sample size of 84,170 men in the 45-69 age range. The scientists who conducted the study sent out questionnaires to participants during 2002-2003 and the scientists followed each participant’s medical history for 11 years.

34,000 (41%) reported cannabis usage
47,092 (57%) reported tobacco use
22,500 (27%) used both tobacco and cannabis
23,467 (29%) used neither cannabis nor tobacco

The study showed that non-cannabis users are two times more likely to be diagnosed with bladder cancer than cannabis users.

Conclusions

The results demonstrate that cannabis usage lowers the risk of developing bladder cancer by 45%. People who use only tobacco are 1.52 times more likely to develop bladder cancer, and people who use tobacco and cannabis have a 1.28 times chance of getting bladder cancer. As one can see cannabis alone has a significant impact on the occurrence of bladder cancer, but even a carcinogen such as tobacco reduces the likelihood of its onset.

“In conclusion, we observed an inverse association between cannabis use and the development of bladder cancer. If this represents a cause and effect relationship, this pathway may provide new opportunities for the prevention and or treatment of bladder cancer.”

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0090429514012060

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/bladdercancer/detailedguide/bladder-cancer-key-statistics