Aspirin use is associated with a significantly increased risk of pancreatic cancer

This study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2004 Jan 7;96(1):22-8

Study title and authors:

A prospective study of aspirin use and the risk of pancreatic cancer in women.

Schernhammer ES, Kang JH, Chan AT, Michaud DS, Skinner HG, Giovannucci E, Colditz GA, Fuchs CS.

Channing Laboratory, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA. eva.schernhammer@channing.harvard.edu

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14709735

The study examined the relationship between aspirin use and the development of pancreatic cancer. The study included 88,378 women over a 18 year period.

The study found:
(a) Women who took 2 or more standard aspirin tablets per week had a 20% increased risk of pancreatic cancer compared to women who took fewer than 2 aspirins per week.
(b) Compared to women that have never had aspirin;
(i) women who had 1-3 tablets a week had an 11% increase in pancreatic cancer
(ii) women who had 4-6 tablets a week had an 29% increase in pancreatic cancer
(iii) women who had 7-13 tablets a week had an 41% increase in pancreatic cancer
(iv) women who had over 14 tablets a week had an 86% increase in pancreatic cancer
(c) Women who reported more than 20 years of regular aspirin use had a 58% increased risk of pancreatic cancer.

The study shows that regular aspirin use is associated with a significantly increased risk of pancreatic cancer among women.

Links to other studies:
Does aspirin increase the risk of heart disease and stroke?
Ibuprofen increases the risk of breast cancer by 51%
Statins increase the risk of colon adenomas by 54%

Ibuprofen increases the risk of breast cancer by 51%

This study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2005 Jun 1;97(11):805-12

Study title and authors:

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and breast cancer risk by stage and hormone receptor status.

Marshall SF, Bernstein L, Anton-Culver H, Deapen D, Horn-Ross PL, Mohrenweiser H, Peel D, Pinder R, Purdie DM, Reynolds P, Stram D, West D, Wright WE, Ziogas A, Ross RK.

Department of Preventive Medicine, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. smarshal@usc.edu

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15928301

The study analyzed data on 114,460 women aged 22 to 85 years to investigate the relationship between breast cancer and aspirin and ibuprofen use.

The study found:

• Women who used aspirin between 1 and 6 days a week had a 9% increase in breast cancer rates compared to women who rarely used aspirin.
• Women who used aspirin between 1 and 6 days a week in a period of over 5 years had a 12% increase in breast cancer rates compared to women who rarely used aspirin.
• Women who took ibuprofen daily had a 24% increase in breast cancer rates compared to women who rarely used ibuprofen.
• Women who took ibuprofen daily in a period of over 5 years had a 51% increase in breast cancer rates compared to women who rarely used ibuprofen.

This study shows that aspirin and ibuprofen use increase the incidence of breast cancer.