Ovarian cancer risk decreases with frequent aspirin use

Ovarian cancer risk decreases with frequent aspirin use

Decreasing a woman’s risk for ovarian cancer may be as simple as taking common pain relievers such as aspirin, suggests a new study from Denmark. Women taking aspirin at least twice a week for one month decreased their risk for ovarian cancer by 40 percent when compared to women not taking the medication as frequently.

While aspirin was indicated as a major factor for ovarian cancer risk, researchers also found other pain relievers evaluated in the study decreased the risk for serious cancers at a lesser rate. Drugs such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen and naproxen decrease serious cancer risk in women by approximately 28 percent.

The use of painkillers, however, must be taken with caution, as other studies indicate they generate addiction and lead to other serious health concerns.

Ovarian cancer and aspirin research

For the research, the Demark researchers evaluated 750 women with ovarian cancer as well as a control group of 1500 healthy women. The study participants were asked questions pertaining to overall health and what medications were taken regularly.

Contraceptives, which have also been noted to reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, were taken into consideration. At the end of the research period, experts surmised chronic inflammation may play a role in the development of ovarian cancer, and therefore the use of anti-inflammatories decreased a woman’s risk.

Dr. Noah Kauff, told My Health News Daily, director of ovarian cancer screening and prevention at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, told My Health News Daily, chronic inflammation from normal ovulation can result when the surface of the ovary sustains damage from releasing an egg. As the ovary attempts to repair its damaged surface, there is an increase in cell production and cell division—actions which raise the risk of abnormal cell growth known as cancer.

“We desperately need prevention strategies [for ovarian cancer],” he said, adding there are no good methods of detecting ovarian cancer, and therefore the disease often goes undiagnosed until it is in advanced stages.

Though considered uncommon, new cases of ovarian cancer affect approximately 20,000 women annually, with 90 percent of those women over the age of 40, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths, and it is the most deadly of all cancers in the female reproductive tract.

VOXXI