Aspirin linked to reduced risk of liver cancer
In a large prospective study, researchers have found an association between aspirin use and a reduced risk of liver cancer.
The scientists analysed data on more than 300,000 men and women ages 50 to 71, linking self-reported use of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with diagnoses of hepatocellular carcinoma and death from chronic liver disease. The results were published online last week in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
After a 10-year follow-up, the researchers found that aspirin users had a 37 per cent reduced risk of liver cancer and a 51 per cent reduced risk of death from liver disease, compared with those who did not use aspirin or other NSAIDs. Frequency of use — daily, weekly or monthly — made no difference.
Those who took non-aspirin NSAIDs, like ibuprofen and naproxen, had a 34 per cent reduced risk of cancer, compared to those who did not. But they did not have a reduced risk of death from liver disease.
The study adjusted for variables like alcohol consumption, body mass index and smoking, but the association remained. It suggests the difference between aspirin and non-aspirin NSAIDs could be a chance finding, or it may reflect the different ways in which they inhibit inflammation, a possible contributor to cancer.
"This has no clinical implications yet," said the lead author, Dr Vikrant V Sahasrabuddhe, an epidemiologist. "We need more research about the role of inflammation in cancer development."
In a large prospective study, researchers have found an association between aspirin use and a reduced risk of liver cancer.
The scientists analysed data on more than 300,000 men and women ages 50 to 71, linking self-reported use of aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with diagnoses of hepatocellular carcinoma and death from chronic liver disease. The results were published online last week in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
After a 10-year follow-up, the researchers found that aspirin users had a 37 per cent reduced risk of liver cancer and a 51 per cent reduced risk of death from liver disease, compared with those who did not use aspirin or other NSAIDs. Frequency of use — daily, weekly or monthly — made no difference.
Those who took non-aspirin NSAIDs, like ibuprofen and naproxen, had a 34 per cent reduced risk of cancer, compared to those who did not. But they did not have a reduced risk of death from liver disease.
The study adjusted for variables like alcohol consumption, body mass index and smoking, but the association remained. It suggests the difference between aspirin and non-aspirin NSAIDs could be a chance finding, or it may reflect the different ways in which they inhibit inflammation, a possible contributor to cancer.
"This has no clinical implications yet," said the lead author, Dr Vikrant V Sahasrabuddhe, an epidemiologist. "We need more research about the role of inflammation in cancer development."