Breast cancer patients who take
aspirin reduced their risk of metastasis and death by half
An analysis of data from the Nurse's Health Study, a
large, ongoing prospective observational study, shows that women who have completed
treatment for early-stage breast cancer and who take aspirin have a nearly 50
percent reduced risk of breast cancer death and a similar reduction in the risk
of metastasis.
"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, " said Michelle Holmes, M.D., Dr.PH, associate professor of
medicine and epidemiology at Harvard Medical School & Harvard School of Public
Health and the study's lead author. "If these findings are confirmed in other
clinical trials, taking aspirin may become another simple, low-cost and relatively
safe tool to help women with breast cancer live longer, healthier lives."
Investigators report it is not yet clear how aspirin affects cancer cells,
but they speculate it decreases the risk of cancer metastasis by reducing inflammation,
which is closely associated with cancer development. Prior studies have also suggested
that aspirin inhibits cancer spread: one study found that people with colon cancer
who took aspirin lived longer than those who did not, and laboratory studies have
also shown that aspirin inhibited the growth and invasiveness of breast cancer
cells.
In this analysis, researchers evaluated data from the Nurses' Health Study,
which included 4,164 female nurses in the United States (ages 30 to 55 in 1976)
who were diagnosed with stage I, II, or III breast cancer between 1976 and 2002
and were followed through June 2006. They examined patients' use of aspirin for
one or more years after a breast cancer diagnosis (when patients would have completed
treatment such as surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy) and the frequency
of metastasis and breast cancer death. The authors emphasized that patients undergoing
active treatment should not take aspirin due to potential interactions that can
increase certain side effects.
A total of 400 women experienced metastasis, and 341 of these died of breast
cancer. Women who took aspirin two to five days per week had a 60 percent reduced
risk of metastasis and a 71 percent lower risk of breast cancer death. Those who
took aspirin six or seven days a week had a 43 percent reduced risk of metastasis
and a 64 percent lower risk of breast cancer death. The risk of breast cancer
metastasis and mortality did not differ between women who did not take aspirin
and those who took aspirin once a week.
Researchers also found that women who took non-aspirin non-steroidal inflammatory
drugs (NSAIDs) six or seven days a week also had a reduced risk of breast cancer
death (a 48 percent reduction), but women who took NSAIDS less frequently and
those who used acetaminophen did not experience such a benefit.
While the investigators did not collect data on aspirin dose, they noted that
women who took aspirin regularly most likely took it for heart disease prevention;
the typical dose for that purpose is 81 mg/day.
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