Daily ibuprofen use linked to increased breast cancer risk
Long-term daily use of ibuprofen may be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, results of a study involving 114,000 women suggest
(Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2005;97:805).
The study also found an association between aspirin and ibuprofen use
and increased risks of oestrogen receptor and progesterone receptor-positive
breast cancer. Women completed a questionnaire detailing their use of
non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs and cancer cases were reported through
the California Cancer Registry.
Long-term users of ibuprofen were found to have a 51 per cent higher
risk of breast cancer compared with non-users. The researchers say that
if causality were subsequently proven, 16 of the observed 2,391 breast
cancer cases and eight of the 713 non-localised breast cancer cases would
be attributable to long-term daily use of ibuprofen. They point out,
however, that it is not clear whether the observed association is causal,
and say that their observations warrant further investigation.
“A more detailed understanding of the
tissue-specific effects of NSAIDs, particularly in the context of the
complex biological mechanisms involved in the development of different
cancers, is also needed,” they add. |
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Pharmaceutical Journal
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