Study Finds Survival Advantage Among Women With Breast Cancer Who Take Aspirin
Page Tools
Data from the Nurses’ Health Study suggest that aspirin use after a breast cancer diagnosis may decrease a woman’s risk of both metastasis and death from the disease by as much as 50%.
The study hypothesis was based on in vitro and animal studies showing that breast cancers produce prostaglandins in greater amounts than normal breast cells, and that prostaglandin inhibitors such as aspirin also can inhibit tumor growth. The analysis included data from 4,164 female registered nurses who were (1) diagnosed with stage I, II, or III breast cancer between 1976 and 2002 and (2) observed until death or June 2006, whichever came first. Information about aspirin use was collected as a predetermined category in the Nurses’ Health Study questionnaire.
There were 341 breast cancer deaths, 400 distant recurrences (including the 341 breast cancer deaths), and 732 deaths from any cause among the women studied. Aspirin use was associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer death. Compared with no aspirin use, the adjusted relative risks were:
• 1.07 (95% CI, 0.70 to 1.63) for 1 day of aspirin use per week.
• 0.29 (95% CI, 0.16 to 0.52) for 2 to 5 days of aspirin use per week.
• 0.36 (95% CI, 0.24 to 0.54) for 6 to 7 days of aspirin use per week.
The association did not differ appreciably by stage, menopausal status, body mass index, or estrogen receptor status. Similar reductions in risk were found for distant recurrence. Aspirin use also was associated with a decreased risk of death from any cause.
The authors cautioned that the results of this study may be generalizable only to longer term breast cancer survivors, and that further studies are needed to determine the possible mechanism of aspirin’s action—perhaps ultimately including a randomized clinical trial of aspirin use after breast cancer diagnosis with survival as the end point.
[Editor’s Note: Given the widespread media attention accorded this study, some women with breast cancer may seek to initiate aspirin therapy on their own. Women should be advised not to self-administer aspirin without the knowledge and approval of their health care team. Besides the well-known risks associated with aspirin therapy, the use of aspirin usually is discouraged during chemotherapy.]
J Clin Oncol. 2010 Feb 16. [Epub ahead of print]