Antiinflammatory Use and Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk

Regular long-term use of aspirin, NSAIDs, or acetaminophen did not affect risk, but inflammatory breast tissue lesions might hold clues about possible benefit.

Aspirin and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have long been thought to provide more than analgesia. For example, compelling data support reduction of colon cancer risk. Although beneficial effects on breast cancer risk have been modest at best, an underlying hypothesis is that aspirin and NSAIDs inhibit cyclooxygenase-2–mediated prostaglandin E2 synthesis, which in turn may lower estrogen levels by inhibiting aromatase activity. If this mechanism is valid, one might expect these drugs to lower risk for hormone-sensitive breast cancer.

Researchers conducted an updated analysis of data from the Nurses' Health Study, in which participants who were free of cancer in 1980 were followed until 2008. Prospective data were collected every…

Reviewing Author

William J. Gradishar, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardLilly; AstraZeneca; Gilead

Grant/Research SupportBreast Cancer Research Foundation

Editorial BoardsClinical Breast Cancer; Oncology; Annals of Surgery; Breast Cancer Research and Treatment

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesNational Comprehensive Cancer Network (Chair, Breast Cancer Panel); American Board of Internal Medicine (Medical Oncology Board)