Aspirin use may increase pancreatic c...( PHOENIX The many health benefits of re...)

PHOENIX The many health benefits of regular aspirin use have been well-documented, and include the prevention of certain cancers, heart attacks and strokes, as well as dementia, Alzheimer's disease and cataracts. But a new study advises women that aspirin may not always be helpful. According to research presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research Second Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, extended regular use of aspirin may be associated with a significantly increased risk of pancreatic cancer among women.

Researchers examined the relationship between aspirin use and the development of pancreatic cancer among the participants in the Nurses' Health Study. Among the 88,378 women who were initially cancer-free, 161 cases of pancreatic cancer were documented during 18 years of follow up. Aspirin use was first assessed at baseline in 1980, and updated biennially thereafter. Participants were classified according to a history of aspirin use.

A long duration of regular aspirin use (two or more tablets per week) was associated with a significant increase in pancreatic cancer risk; women who reported 20 or more years of regular aspirin use experienced a 58 percent increased risk (a relative risk of 1.58). The relative risk (RR) is the risk of developing the disease in the treated group compared to the risk in the control group.

Among women who reported aspirin use on at least two of three consecutive biennial questionnaires (compared to consistent non-users), the risk of developing pancreatic cancer was increased by nearly 86 percent for women taking 14 or more tablets per week (RR 1.86). The risk was increased by 41 percent for those taking six to 13 tablets per week (RR 1.41), 29 percent for those taking four to six per week (RR 1.29), and 11 percent for those taking one to three per week (RR 1.11). The results suggest that extended aspirin use may be associated with significantly increa
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Contact: Aimee Frank
amf@spectrumscience.com
202-955-6222
American Association for Cancer Research
31-Dec-2000

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