One aspirin a day keeps breast cancer away?

Tursday Feb 18, 2010 (foodconsumer.org) -- Taking aspirin regularly may have a lower risk of recurrence and death from breast cancer in women surviving the disease, Reuters reported citing a new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
 
The study of more than 4,000 nurses showed those who took aspirin, which in low doses is indicated to prevent cardiovascular disease such as heart attack and stroke, were 50 percent less likely to die from breast cancer or to have recurrence of the disease.
 
"This is the first study to find that aspirin can significantly reduce the risk of cancer spread and death for women who have been treated for early stage breast cancer, " Dr. Michelle Holmes of Harvard Medical School, lead author of the study, were quoted as saying.
 
For the study, Holmes and colleagues examined data from 4,164 female registered nurses taking part in the Nurses' Health Study to see if there would be some association between taking aspirin and risk of recurrence and death from breast cancer.  Starting in 1976, the researchers followed all the participants to record breast cancer incidence and death by all causes. During the follow-up, 341 nurses died of breast cancer.
 
They found those who took aspirin two to five days a week were 60 percent less likely to have their breast cancer spread and 71 percent less likely to die from the cancer.
 
Six to seven aspirins a week was associated with 43 percent reduced risk of spreading of breast cancer and 64 percent reduced risk of dying from breast cancer.
 
It was found that not only aspirin reduced the risk.  Some of the other NSAIDS drugs in the same class like ibuprofen and naproxen were also found to be associated with reduced risks. But not all NSAIDS help.  Acetaminophen did not seem to reduce the risk.
 
NSAIDS are known to lower inflammation, which is thought to have something to do with cancer.
 
The researchers noted that adverse effects associated with aspirin are less severe than cancer chemotherapy drugs and may also help prevent colon cancer, cardiovascular disease and stroke.
 
The study is not a trial, a health observer cautioned, meaning that the results do not mean that taking aspirin or other similar drugs would definitely reduce the risk of recurrence or death from breast cancer.  Aspirin can cause stomach bleeding and physicians should approve its use.
 
Breast cancer is found in more than 170,000 women each year in the United States and the disease kills about 50,000 patients annually, according to the National Cancer Institute.

By david Liu and Denise Reynolds