Pain and cancer killers? - Brief Article

Better Nutrition, August, 2003

Taking over-the-counter pain-killers such as aspirin or ibuprofen could help reduce the risks of breast cancer by a fifth or more, says a study, which followed more than 80,000 women and was published in the April 2003 edition of the Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

The findings apply only to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Aspirin and ibuprofen are the best known examples of NSAIDs. Paracetamol and codeine, on the other hand, belong to the non-NSAID classes of painkillers.

Women who take two or more NSAID tablets a week are considered regular users. The research links steady use of aspirin for 5-9 years to a 21 percent reduction in risk of breast cancer over an average of 18 months.

Those taking aspirin for longer periods had an even bigger reduction--28 percent. Ibuprofen users fared better still, recording a 49 percent reduction in risk. However, regular use of low-dose aspirin, such as children's aspirin, seemed to have no apparent protective effects.

Aspirin is already recommended by many doctors to patients who are at a high risk of heart disease. Studies have also strongly suggested that aspirin could slow down--or even prevent--prostate and bowel cancer. Smaller studies have also pointed to a protective effect against breast cancer. If you're planning to take NSAIDs for cancer protection, however, you should first check with a health care practitioner. Both types of NSAIDs could cause gastric side effects--particularly bleeding--in regular users.