Marijuana is the most widely used illegal drug in the United States. Although marijuana use had decreased substantially since the late 1970s, it has risen dramatically since 1992 among teenagers and young adults. One possible factor contributing to this upsurge is the widespread belief that there are no chronic adverse health effects of regular marijuana use. In November 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215, which would legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Despite scientific debate about the benefits of marijuana treatment, the public's perception seems to be that the potential benefits outweigh the risks. Nevertheless, several lines of evidence from biochemical, cellular, tissue and animal studies provide a biologically plausible basis for the hypothesis that marijuana is a risk factor for respiratory-tract cancers. Thus far, however, there is no epidemiologic evidence for this association, primarily because of the long induction/latency of human carcinomas and the infrequent use of marijuana in the general U.S. population before the late '60s. The major objective of the proposed 5-year project is to estimate the effects of marijuana use on the risk of lung cancer and upper-aerodigestive-tract (UAT) cancers among residents of Los Angeles County, ages 18-57. Secondary objectives are to assess the interaction effects of marijuana and tobacco use, to estimate the effects of other factors for which the epidemiologic evidence is inconsistent or sparse, and to initiate a molecular study by obtaining tumor specimens for cases and buccal cells from cases and controls. The proposed design is a population-based case-control study involving 600 lung-cancer cases, 600 UAT-cancer cases (395 oral cavity and pharynx, 85 esophagus, and 120 larynx), and 1,200 controls. Histologically confirmed cases will be identified by the rapid ascertainment system of the USC Cancer Surveillance Program, a population-based SEER registry for Los Angeles County. Controls will be selected according to a prespecified algorithm from the neighborhoods of cases; one control will be matched to each case on age, sex, race/ethnicity, and neighborhood. The major source of data will be personal interviews conducted with all subjects in their homes. Information will be collected on a variety of factors: detailed history of marijuana, tobacco and alcohol use; occupational and environmental exposures (e.g., passive smoking); clinical factors (e.g., depression and family history of cancer); diet and other behaviors (e.g., fruits, vegetables, fats, and supplements); and sociodemographic factors (e.g., SES).

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
3R01DA011386-05S1
Application #
6804317
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG4)
Program Officer
Khalsa, Jagjitsingh H
Project Start
1999-04-01
Project End
2004-03-31
Budget Start
2003-09-01
Budget End
2004-03-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2003
Total Cost
$168,317
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Los Angeles
Department
Public Health & Prev Medicine
Type
Schools of Public Health
DUNS #
092530369
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90095
Zhao, Jin-Kou; Wu, Ming; Kim, Claire H et al. (2017) Jiangsu Four Cancers Study: a large case-control study of lung, liver, stomach, and esophageal cancers in Jiangsu Province, China. Eur J Cancer Prev 26:357-364
Meyers, Travis J; Chang, Shen-Chih; Chang, Po-Yin et al. (2017) Case-control study of cumulative cigarette tar exposure and lung and upper aerodigestive tract cancers. Int J Cancer 140:2040-2050
Myneni, Ajay A; Chang, Shen-Chih; Niu, Rungui et al. (2017) Ataxia Telangiectasia-Mutated (ATM)Polymorphisms and Risk of Lung Cancer in a Chinese Population. Front Public Health 5:102
Kawakita, Daisuke; Lee, Yuan-Chin Amy; Turati, Federica et al. (2017) Dietary fiber intake and head and neck cancer risk: A pooled analysis in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology consortium. Int J Cancer 141:1811-1821
Chen, Li-Shiun; Baker, Timothy; Hung, Rayjean J et al. (2016) Genetic Risk Can Be Decreased: Quitting Smoking Decreases and Delays Lung Cancer for Smokers With High and Low CHRNA5 Risk Genotypes - A Meta-Analysis. EBioMedicine 11:219-226
Hashim, D; Sartori, S; Brennan, P et al. (2016) The role of oral hygiene in head and neck cancer: results from International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) consortium. Ann Oncol 27:1619-25
Myneni, Ajay A; Chang, Shen-Chih; Niu, Rungui et al. (2016) Raw Garlic Consumption and Lung Cancer in a Chinese Population. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 25:624-33
Miles, Fayth L; Chang, Shen-Chih; Morgenstern, Hal et al. (2016) Associations of red and processed meat with survival among patients with cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract and lung. Nutr Res 36:620-6
Boffetta, Paolo; Hayes, Richard B; Sartori, Samantha et al. (2016) Mouthwash use and cancer of the head and neck: a pooled analysis from the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology Consortium. Eur J Cancer Prev 25:344-8
Miles, Fayth L; Chang, Shen-Chih; Morgenstern, Hal et al. (2016) Association of sugary beverages with survival among patients with cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract. Cancer Causes Control 27:1293-1300

Showing the most recent 10 out of 61 publications