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Cannabis and lung cancer don’t mix. According to a new study, the French addicted to this drug would be struck by the disease early.
In France, lung cancer is the 3rd most common cancer – with 46,363 new cases diagnosed in 2018. If we know that tobacco is the first risk factor for this cancer, another factor – however important – was hitherto least talked about: cannabis. This drug is however responsible for early lung cancer, according to a new study, unveiled at the 27th Congress of French-speaking pneumology.
Cannabis promotes the appearance of cancer at an early stage
As part of this survey, 8999 patients were recruited. All had bronchopulmonary cancer (BPC) – a cancer of late diagnosis and poor prognosis – diagnosed from January 1 to December 31, 2020.
The age and health status of candidate tobacco smokers was compared to that of cannabis users.
Result ? All lung cancer patients who used cannabis were around 53 years old at the time of diagnosis…compared to 65 for tobacco smokers.
“The proportion of P50 presenting a bronchopulmonary cancer (BPC) decreases over the last 20 years, but with an increasing proportion of women. The proportion of smokers is decreasing but cannabis use is increasing in this young population. The prognosis is better, although metastatic forms are more frequent and patients are more often symptomatic, compared to older patients. P50 PBC is most often of the adenocarcinoma type“, note the researchers.
53, the average age of cancer diagnosis among cannabis smokers
Cannabis users therefore seem to be at greater risk of “early” lung cancer. A trend, confirmed by the analyzes of the researchers.
“Cannabis users represent 3.6% of all patients studied. But this figure rises to 28.3% if we focus only on patients under the age of 50.“, reveals Didier Debieuvre, pulmonologist and coordinator of the study, to BFMTV.
Another interesting constant: French people under the age of 50 had a 6% additional risk of contracting lung cancer if they consumed cannabis.
“When cannabis is used, the average age of diagnosis of lung cancer is 53 years old, 65 years old among tobacco users alone, and 72 years old among non-smokers.“, adds doctor Didier Debieuvre.
A phenomenon that could be explained by the constitution of the joint: cannabis, smoked without a filter, could prove to be much more harmful than cigarettes.
A track validated by the author of this study: “It is likely that the absence of a filter increases the risk“, concludes the doctor.