| Large study
of nurses showed 50 percent lower risk cancer would
spread
WASHINGTON
- Breast cancer survivors who take aspirin regularly may
be less likely to die or have their cancer return, U.S.
researchers reported Tuesday.
The study of more than 4,000 nurses showed that those
who took aspirin — usually to prevent heart disease
— had a 50 percent lower risk of dying from breast
cancer and a 50 percent lower risk that the cancer would
spread.
"This is the first study to find that aspirin can
significantly reduce the risk of cancer spread and death
for women who have been treated for early stage breast
cancer, " said Dr. Michelle Holmes of Harvard
Medical School, who led the study published in the
Journal of Clinical Oncology.
"If these findings are confirmed in other clinical
trials, taking aspirin may become another simple,
low-cost and relatively safe tool to help women with
breast cancer live longer, healthier lives," Holmes
added in a statement.
Holmes and her team studied 4,164 female registered
nurses taking part in the Nurses' Health Study, an
ongoing analysis of a wide range of health issues.
They started in 1976, looking at who took aspirin,
watching for breast cancer and all causes of death until
2006.
Over this time, 341 of the nurses died of breast cancer.
Women who took aspirin two to five days a week had a 60
percent reduced risk of their cancer spreading and a 71
percent lower risk of breast cancer death. Six to seven
aspirins a week lowered the risk of spread by 43 percent
and the risk of breast cancer death by 64 percent.
Most of the women were taking low-dose aspirin to
prevent heart attacks and stroke.
Ibuprofen and naproxen appear to lower risk too
Other drugs in the same class as aspirin also apparently
lowered the risks, too. These drugs, called
non-steroidal inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs, include
ibuprofen and naproxen but not acetaminophen, also known
as paracetamol.
But there was not enough data on these drugs to give a
clear answer.
The researchers said they are not sure how aspirin and
other NSAIDS may affect tumors but it could be by
lowering inflammation. Other studies have shown that
aspirin and ibuprofen can lower colon cancer risk, for
instance.
"Aspirin has relatively benign adverse effects
compared with cancer chemotherapeutic drugs and may also
prevent colon cancer, cardiovascular disease, and
stroke," the researchers wrote. It affected both
estrogen-positive tumors and those not fueled by the
hormone.
Holmes' team stressed that patients should not take
aspirin while undergoing radiation or chemotherapy
because of the risk of side effects.
And aspirin can cause stomach bleeding so it should not
be taken without a doctor's supervision.
Copyright 2010 Reuters. |
