Pain Medications Prevent Cancer

Results results from a new, five-year study is showing that regular use this popular group of prescription pain relievers may reduce the risk of breast cancer by up to 71 percent. In addition, these drugs may also benefit in the prevention of prostate, colon and lung cancers.

These study findings were reported in the recent annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C. The researchers have found significant chemopreventive effects against breast cancer with the regular use of Cox-2 inhibitors and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The study was conducted by Dr. Randall Harris, professor and director of the Center for Molecular Epidemiology and Environmental Health in The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

Dr. Randall Harris and colleagues conducted a large case-control study of Cox-2 inhibitors and studied their impact upon the four leading types of cancer in the United States: breast, lung, prostate and colon cancer. COX-2 inhibitors are non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs that specifically block the COX-2 enzyme pathway that is often activated in inflammation, cancer, heart disease and other disorders.

Harris and his colleagues studied the use of celecoxib (Celebrex), rofecoxib (Vioxx), regular aspirin, low-dose aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen among 323 women with breast cancer from 1999-2004.

They discovered that women who used Cox-2 inhibitors on a regular basis had much less breast cancer. Specifically, they found that those who used celecoxib or rofecoxib for at least two years appeared to benefit the most, experiencing a 71 percent reduction in risk of breast cancer. Ibuprofen use over the same period was associated with a 64 percent reduction, while regular aspirin offered a 51 percent reduction in risk of the disease.

On the other hand, acetaminophen, which has a negligible effect upon COX-2 activity, and low-dose aspirin provided no significant change in the risk of breast cancer.



Posted by: Janet    Source