Aspirin and breast cancer risk
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
The use of aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and acetaminophen is not associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer among premenopausal women in a study published online in the Internal Archives of Medicine Jan. 26. Led by Harvard researcher A. Heather Eliassen, the trial followed 112,292 women ages 25 to 42 who completed a lifestyle questionnaire for the Nurses' Health Study II in 1989; subjects were followed through 2003. Overall, 1,345 cases of invasive premenopausal breast cancer were documented. Results did not vary by frequency, dose or duration of use. The findings run counter to a meta-analysis published in the Oct. 7 Journal of National Cancer Institute, which concluded NSAIDs, including aspirin and ibuprofen, are associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer (1"The Tan Sheet" Oct. 13, 2008, In Brief)