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Study Suggests Pain Reliever, Breast Cancer Link

June 1, 2005

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Researchers think women who use aspirin, ibuprofen or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) on a regular basis could increase their risks of breast cancer. An account of the study - the first to establish such a link - appears in the latest issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The study says daily use of aspirin increases risk of estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor negative breast tumor, while long-term daily use of ibuprofen increases the risk of non-localized breast cancer. A research team from the University of Southern California followed the health of more than 100,000 women across a wide range of ages. The women had previously participated in the California Teachers Study.

Previous research had suggested that NSAIDs might reduce the risk of developing breast cancer, and the USC researchers said they expected their results to bear that out. But the study suggested just the opposite.

Researchers found that women who took ibuprofen daily for a period of at least five years had 50 per cent higher chances of being diagnosed with breast cancer than less frequent users. Those who took aspirin on a daily basis for at least five years had an 80 percent greater chance of developing breast cancer, than women who did not.

The study is already fueling debate in the cancer research community, with some scientists expressing skepticism at the findings and one even attributing the reputed "link" to nothing more than "chance." Columbia University researcher Alfred Neugut, whose work has suggested NSAIDS might help prevent breast cancer, says the new findings contradict everything he's seen on the subject.

The USC research team said more study is required before a link between the pain relievers and breast cancer can be established. But study leader Sarah Marshall says she is convinced that aspirin and ibuprofen are doing nothing to prevent breast cancer.

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