Aspirin May Cut Head and Neck Cancer Risk(ZT)

November 20, 2006 03:58:15 PM PST
By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter

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MONDAY,Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Along with its other benefits, an aspirin aday may help keep head and neck cancers away, a new long-term studysuggests.

It wasn't so much the amount of aspirin that was takenbut the length of time that people were on the drug that mattered, saidstudy co-author Mary E. Reid, an assistant professor of oncology atRoswell Park Cancer Institute, in Buffalo, N.Y.

"We found thatduration really seemed to make a difference," Reid said. "It was moreduration than frequency. Taking aspirin for under 10 years did not havea significant effect, [but] taking it 10 years or more was associatedwith a 30 percent reduction in cancer."

The protective effect was not seen in heavy smokers and drinkers, however.

Her team reported the findings in the November issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology.

Accordingto the U.S. National Cancer Institute, head and neck cancers compriseabout 2 percent to 5 percent of all malignancies in the United States,with about 39,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Experts estimate thatabout 85 percent of these cancers are linked to tobacco use.

Reidand her colleagues' study included patients treated at Roswell Park --529 with head and neck cancer, another 529 without the malignancy.Participants were matched for age, sex and smoking status. They werealso asked about their use of aspirin over the preceding decades.

"Aconsistently decreasing trend in risk was noted with increasingduration of aspirin use," the researchers reported. "Risk reduction wasobserved across all five primary tumor sites, with cancers of the oralcavity and oropharynx [upper throat] exhibiting greater risk reduction."

Earlierstudies have linked aspirin use to reduced risk of other forms ofcancer, such as prevention studies of colorectal cancer that Reidherself has worked on.

But it's still too early to recommendroutine use of aspirin as a cancer-preventive measure, said Dr. MichaelThun, vice president for epidemiology and prevalence research at theAmerican Cancer Society.

The new retrospective study "does nothave the strongest kind of design" because participants were askedabout aspirin use after they were diagnosed with cancer, Thun noted.Still, he said, "the results were internally quite consistent, with alower risk the longer they used aspirin."

The idea that aspirinand other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can helpprevent cancer is "quite plausible, but the evidence is limited," Thunadded. However, the theory is plausible enough for the U.S. NationalCancer Institute to be sponsoring a large-scale study using Celebrex,also a member of the NSAID family. Results are expected in about twoyears, Thun said.

Aspirin's cancer-fighting effect appears to belinked to the molecular mechanism by which NSAIDs fight pain, both Reidand Thun said. The medications inhibit an enzyme called cox-2, whoseactivity is known to increase in pre-malignant lesions. Inhibiting theenzyme may also help slow the proliferation of cells, Reid said.

Anyonewho wants to take aspirin as a cancer preventive should first consulttheir physician, Reid cautioned. "You should always talk to a physicianbefore taking anything chronically," she said.

Taking aspirineach day does have its risks, Thun said. "At this point, aspirin isstill not recommended for prevention of any cancer because of the risksof bleeding, particularly gastrointestinal," he said. "What is stillmissing is proof that the benefits of taking aspirin outweigh therisks."

More information

Learn more about head and neck cancer at the U.S. National Cancer Institute.