Breast cancer risk reduced in women with diabetes who take low-dose aspirin

A new study of nearly 149,000 women with diabetes over 14 years showed an overall 18% reduced breast cancer risk for women who used low-dose aspirin compared to those who did not. The study design and results are published in an article in Journal of Women's Health.

In the article entitled "Low-Dose Aspirin Reduces Breast Cancer Risk in Women with Diabetes: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study in Taiwan," Yi-Sun Yang, MD, PhD, Chien-Ning Huang, MD, PhD, and coauthors from Chung Shan Medical University Hospital and Hung Kuang University, Taichung, Taiwan, defined low-dose aspirin use as intake of 75-165 mg daily. The researchers reported that a high cumulative dose of aspirin over the 14-year study period reduced breast cancer risk by 47%, whereas low and medium cumulative doses did not reduce risk.

"Women with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of breast cancer, and these results suggest that the same low-dose aspirin that many of these women take to prevent cardiovascular disease may also help reduce their risk of breast cancer," says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women's Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health.