Painkillers may cut risk of ovarian cancer
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Regular use of common painkillers is associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer, according to the results of a recent population-based study. Still, researchers say they are a long way from recommending these drugs solely for possibly preventing ovarian cancer.
In the study, women who used any NSAID—i.e., non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen or naproxen—in the preceding 5 years were 28 percent less likely to develop ovarian cancer than were nonusers. The risk reduction was strongest with aspirin—37 percent.
“Previous studies looking at this topic have yielded inconsistent results,” lead author Dr. Joellen M. Schildkraut, from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, told Reuters Health. In a recent review, “researchers found no anti-ovarian cancer effect for these drugs.” However, she said she was not sure that all of the data included in the study was really suitable for combined analysis.
The present study, reported in the medical journal Epidemiology, involved 586 women with ovarian cancer and 627 controls who were surveyed about painkiller use during the preceding 5 years. Women who regularly used painkillers for at least 3 months were classified as “users”, while all other women were considered nonusers.
As noted, NSAID users were 28 percent less likely to develop ovarian cancer than nonusers. The risk reduction with drugs like Tylenol that contain acetaminophen (also known as paracetamo) was slightly less—22 percent.
As to how NSAIDs might cut the risk of ovarian cancer, Schildkraut said that it probably “involves antiinflammatory effects.” For acetaminophen, the mechanism is less clear, but the fact that another study also showed a benefit with acetaminophen use “suggests it is a real finding.”
Schildkraut said that while the present findings support an inverse association between analgesic use and ovarian cancer risk, this study by no means closes the book on the topic. Further research from epidemiologic studies and clinical trials is needed to confirm the link and to clarify various issues, such as the optimal agent as well as the appropriate dose and duration of use needed to see a benefit, she added.
SOURCE: Epidemiology, January 2006.
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