Common Pain Relievers Reduce Breast Cancer Risk

A study has concluded that weekly doses of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and aspirin can inhibit the formation and growth of breast cancer. The results were reported in the Proceedings for the 94th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Philadelphia (PA, USA).

The study showed that women taking two or more NSAIDs a per week for five to nine years reduced their risk of breast cancer by 21%. Extending use to ten or more years resulted in an even greater reduction of 28%. The probability of developing breast cancer was estimated and adjusted for age and other risk factors (body mass, estrogen use, exercise, family history). Researchers noted that ibuprofen was more effective than aspirin (49% vs 21%), and regular use of low-dose aspirin had no effect.

The primary mechanism of action of these drugs is the inhibition of COX-2 , which is over-expressed in most human breast cancers. The data were taken from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study of the US National Cancer Institute, involving 80,741 postmenopausal women between 50 and 79 years of age with no reported history of any cancer other than nonmelanoma skin cancer.

"These results suggest that even women at high risk for breast cancer may be protected by taking NSAIDs,” explained Randall Harris, M.D., Ph.D., lead investigator and professor in the division of epidemiology and biometrics at Ohio State University (Columbus, USA). "However, before usage guidelines for NSAIDs can be implemented, additional studies are needed.”