Cannabis Use Disorder May Up Risk of Benign Salivary Gland Tumors

MONDAY, July 21, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Cannabis use disorder (CUD) is associated with increased risk of benign salivary gland tumors, according to a research letter published online July 17 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

Tyler J. Gallagher, M.D., M.P.H., from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study using deidentified data from the TriNetX U.S. Collaborative Network to examine the association between cannabis use and benign salivary gland tumors. Two cohorts of adults age 18 years or older were created: one had a diagnosis of cannabis-related disorder and the other had no cannabis-related disorder diagnosis between Jan. 24, 2005, and Jan. 24, 2025.

The researchers found that the incidence of any benign major salivary gland tumor was higher in the group with CUD (183,818 individuals) than the group without CUD (6,248,964 individuals) (0.08 versus 0.02 percent). The group with versus without CUD also had higher incidence of benign parotid salivary gland tumors (0.05 versus 0.01 percent). After propensity score matching, the relative risk of any benign major salivary gland tumor was higher among those with versus without CUD at all time points (relative risks, 5.18, 4.32, and 5.00 at any time, zero to less than five years, and at five or more years, respectively) after CUD diagnosis or outpatient hospital visit. Elevated relative risk of a benign parotid salivary gland tumor was also seen (relative risks, 5.16, 4.92, and 3.90 for any time, zero to less than five years, and five or more years, respectively).

“The elevated relative risk of benign parotid tumors and the persistent association over time highlight potential site-specific outcomes of cannabis use,” the authors write.

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