NSAIDs may have chemopreventive effect against breast cancer.

2004 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Preliminary results from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) indicate that regular use of aspirin, ibuprofen, or other NSAIDs may have a significant chemopreventive effect against breast cancer.

"We analyzed data from the prospective WHI Observational Study to examine the effects of regular use of aspirin, ibuprofen, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on breast cancer risk," scientists in the United States report.

"We studied a population of 80,741 postmenopausal women between 50 and 79 years of age who reported no history of breast cancer or other cancers (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer), and we completed a personal baseline interview that elicited comprehensive health information including data on breast cancer risk factors and NSAID use," wrote R.E. Harris and colleagues, Ohio State University, College of Medicine & Public Health.

"All of the cases were adjudicated by WHI physicians using pathology reports. Our analysis was based on 1392 confirmed cases of breast cancer. Relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated with adjustment for age and other breast cancer risk factors," the researchers wrote.

"Regular NSAID use (two or more tablets/week) for 5-9 years produced a 21% reduction in the incidence of breast cancer (RR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.60-1.04); regular NSAID use for 10 or more years produced a 28% reduction (RR, 0.72; CI, 0.56-0.91), and there was a statistically significant inverse linear trend of breast cancer ...