NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking high doses of the painkillers known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) -- such as ibuprofen or aspirin -- is associated with a reduced risk of developing breast cancer, the results of a recent study suggest.
Dr. Victoria A. Kirsh, of Cancer Care Ontario, Toronto, and colleagues analyzed 3125 cases of breast cancer, compared with 3062 age-matched "controls" who were free of cancer. The subjects completed a questionnaire that included detailed questions on their use of NSAIDs.
About a quarter of the participants were regular NSAID users, defined as daily use for at least 2 months, the team reports in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Regular use of NSAIDs was associated with a 24 percent lower risk of breast cancer, the researchers report. Breast cancer risk decreased with increased duration of NSAID use and was generally lowest after 7 or more years of use.
Kirsh and colleagues note that chronic inflammation has been linked to the development of cancer, and that painkillers are often taken for long periods and at high doses for chronic pain or inflammation.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, September 15, 2007.
Inflammation contributes to the development of many diseases, including arthritis, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), and cancer. So it makes sense that doctors would wonder if medicines that control inflammation, such as aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), could affect breast cancer risk.
There are many NSAIDs, including:
The study reviewed here showed that women who regularly took NSAIDs had a 24% lower risk of breast cancer compared to women who didn't take NSAIDs. Some earlier research also has shown an association between a lower risk of breast cancer and regularly taking aspirin. But these results weren't statistically significant, which means they could have happened just by chance. And another large study that was part of the Women's Health Study, a 12-year study of 39,876 U.S. women, showed that taking a low dose of aspirin daily didn't lower breast cancer risk.
Frequently taking NSAIDs can cause bleeding, stomach ulcers, liver and kidney damage, and other serious health problems. Because of these risks and conflicting research results, doctors don't recommend regularly taking NSAIDs to lower breast cancer risk.
The most important thing to take from this research is knowing that if you have to take NSAIDs regularly for other medical reasons, you're not increasing your breast cancer risk.
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