Inverse association between nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and prostate cancer.
Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention 2004;13(4):649-53.
ABSTRACT
Methods: We conducted a cohort study with a nested case-control analysis
in order to further study the association between NSAIDs and prostate
cancer. We used data from the General Practice Research Database in U.K.
Results: Aspirin use was associated with a reduced risk of prostate
cancer (OR, 0.70 (0.61,0.79)). We also found that paracetamol use with a
treatment duration longer than one year was associated with a decreased
risk ((OR, 0.65 (0.54-0.78)). NA-NSAID and paracetamol short-term use
was associated with a small increased risk whereas long-term users of
NA-NSAIDs presented an OR of 0.89 (0.73-1.08).
Discussion: Our findings support a protective effect of aspirin and
paracetamol against prostate cancer. The transient elevated risk
observed among newly started users of NA-NSAIDs and paracetamol is most
likely explained by prothopathic bias. We found some suggestion of a
reduced risk with long-term use of NA-NSAID.
Background: Prostate cancer is considered a major health problem in
western countries. Promising results from observational studies on
cancer at other sites fuelled the publication of several studies
assessing the association between NSAID use and prostate cancer. However
these studies show conflicting results.