Impact of Low-Dose Aspirin Use on Risk of Ovarian Cancer
Posted: Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Shelley S. Tworoger, PhD, of the Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, and colleagues from the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, found that users of low-dose aspirin may have a lower risk of developing ovarian cancer, according to their cohort study based on data from the Nurses’ Health Study. However, they noted, the link between other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and ovarian cancer may be more complex. These findings were published in JAMA Oncology.
“Our findings expand on two consortium studies showing that daily aspirin use is related to lower ovarian cancer risk,” stated Dr. Tworoger in an institutional press release. “More research is needed to figure out which women can benefit most from taking low-dose aspirin to reduce their risk of ovarian cancer.”
Of 205,498 women followed in the Nurses’ Health Study and Nurses’ Health Study II, 1,054 developed ovarian cancer, and their use of analgesic medications was analyzed. The choice of analgesic medication (aspirin, low-dose aspirin, non-aspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAIDs], and acetaminophen) was tracked; along with the dose, frequency, timing, and duration of use.
They found that women who reported recent, regular use of low-dose aspirin (100 mg or less) had a 23% lower risk of developing ovarian cancer than did women who did not regularly take aspirin. In addition, the use of NSAIDs regularly (10 or more tablets weekly) was associated with a 19% increased risk of ovarian cancer. In a separate evaluation of low-dose (up to 100 mg) and standard-dose (325 mg) aspirin, there was an inverse association for low-dose aspirin (hazard ratio = 0.77) but no association for standard-dose aspirin (hazard ratio = 1.17) was noted. As for the use of acetaminophen, no clear association was found.
