Daily low-dose aspirin has been used to prevent strokes and heart attacks. Aspirin may also have a preventative effect against colorectal cancer. However, a recent study from Harvard Medical School showed females who take daily aspirin might raise their risk of getting pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer is a deadly disease which affects about 30,000 patients in the United States annually. Because most patients with pancreatic cancer are diagnosed with locally advanced or metastatic disease, surgery is feasible for less than 15% of all newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer patients. Recurrence of the disease is common even after surgery, and virtually all patients die of their disease within three years.
Risk factors related to pancreatic cancer include cigarette smoking and obesity. However, a recent study presented by Dr. Eva Schernhammer of Harvard Medical School at the American Association for Cancer Research 2nd Annual Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Meeting showed that women who take aspirin on a regular basis might be at an increased risk for pancreatic cancer. “Apart from smoking, this is one of the few risk factors that have been identified for pancreatic cancer,” according to Dr. Schernhammer.
The researchers analyzed data from more than 88,300 females, and theorized that aspirin would protect against pancreatic cancer, given its preventive role in colorectal cancer. Most studied subjects stated that they took aspirin for headache, not for heart disease or cancer prevention. Over eighteen years, they identified 161 cases of pancreatic cancer among the subjects. The findings from their study were surprising: patients who took 14 or more tablets of aspirin per week had an 86% greater risk of pancreatic cancer than non-users; patients who took 6 to 13 tablets had approximately a 41% higher risk, and patients who took 1 to 3 tablets of aspirin weekly had an 11% greater risk.
Aspirin use may be related to pancreatitis, a known risk factor for pancreatic cancer, but the researchers cannot explain the exact mechanism by which aspirin is related to higher pancreatic cancer incidence. The findings from this study do not indicate that females should not use aspirin; however, a large cohort study is needed to confirm the findings from the current study. Further more, the effect of aspirin on pancreatic cancer in male patients should be addressed.
Dr. Schernhammer further pointed out that other risk factors such as cigarette smoking and obesity carry a far greater risk for pancreatic cancer than aspirin. Therefore, smoking cessation and weight reduction should be considered for patients who carry these risk factors and are concerned about the findings of the study.
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