NSAID use associated with lower colorectal cancer mortality rates among postmenopausal women

October 24, 2011 in Cancer

Postmenopausal women who reported having used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for at least 10 years at the time of enrollment in the Women's Health Initiative study had a lower risk for death from colorectal cancer compared with women who reported no use of these drugs at enrollment, according to data presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

"Our results suggest that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use is associated with lower colorectal mortality among postmenopausal women who use these medications more consistently and for longer periods of time," said Anna E. Coghill, M.P.H., a doctoral student in epidemiology at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

She and her colleagues evaluated the association between aspirin and nonaspirin NSAID use and colorectal cancer mortality in 160,143 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) who did not report a history of colorectal cancer at baseline. The study population included women enrolled in the WHI clinical trials and women enrolled in the WHI observational study.

"The WHI study population represents a large and well-characterized cohort of , and the medication data collected in this cohort made it possible for us to investigate multiple types, durations and strengths of NSAID use," Coghill said.

Researchers confirmed 2,119 cases of colorectal cancer through medical reports and verified 492 deaths due to colorectal cancer through a centralized and death certificate review.

Coghill and colleagues found that reported use of such as aspirin, ibuprofen and prescription NSAIDs at baseline, by itself, was not associated with colorectal cancer mortality.

However, women in the study who reported using NSAIDs at both study enrollment and three years after study enrollment had an approximately 30 percent lower rate of death due to colorectal cancer compared with women who reported no NASID use or use at only one of these two time points. Researchers also observed significant reductions in colorectal cancer mortality among women who reported at least 10 years of NSAID use at study enrollment compared with those who reported no use.

"The results of our study help to further clarify the importance of different durations of NSAID use over time for the risk for dying from colorectal cancer," Coghill said.

Provided by American Association for Cancer Research search and more info website

not rated yet  

Rank not rated yet
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Key find for early bladder cancer treatment

Aggressive forms of bladder cancer involve the protein PODXL – a discovery that could hold the key to improved treatment, according to researchers at Lund University, Uppsala University and KTH in Sweden.

Cancer created 47 minutes ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Cold plasma successful against brain cancer cells

For the first time, physicists from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), biologists and physicians demonstrated the synergistic effect of cold atmospheric plasma - a partly ionized ...

Cancer created 1 hour ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma survival doubles since early 1970s

More than half of patients diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) are now surviving the disease thanks to improved diagnosis and treatment, according to a new report1 from Cancer Research UK.

Cancer created 1 hour ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Researchers find possible 'master switch' in deadly brain cancer

(Medical Xpress)—Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified a promising target for treating glioblastoma, one that appears to avoid many of the obstacles that typically frustrate efforts ...

Cancer created 2 hours ago | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

American cancer society celebrates 100 years of progress

(HealthDay)—The American Cancer Society, which is celebrating on Wednesday a century of fighting a disease once viewed as a death sentence, is making a pledge to put itself out of business.

Cancer created 16 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Study reveals active site of enzyme linked to stuttering

(Medical Xpress)—Scientists from the Joint Center for Structural Genomics (JCSG) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have determined the 3-D structure of the chemically active part of an enzyme involved ...

Are kids who take music lessons different from other kids?

(Medical Xpress)—Research by U of T Mississauga psychology professor Glenn Schellenberg reveals that two key personality traits – openness-to-experience and conscientiousness—predict better than IQ ...

New discovery in fight against deadly meningococcal disease

Professor Michael Jennings, Deputy Director of the Institute for Glycomics at Griffith University, was part of an international team that discovered the previously unknown pathway of how the bacterium colonizes people.

Pay attention: How we focus and concentrate

Scientists at Newcastle University have shed new light on how the brain tunes in to relevant information.

Parents can help preteens with abduction concerns

Parents naturally are concerned for their children's safety, particularly when there is news of a child abduction that happens close to home. Finding the balance between emotions and the "teachable moment" as parents talk ...

New imaging techniques used to help patients suffering from epilepsy

New techniques in imaging of brain activity developed by Jean Gotman, from McGill University's Montreal Neurological Institute, and his colleagues lead to improved treatment of patients suffering from epilepsy. The combination ...