An aspirin may cure more than a headache, as a study suggests that the medicine could keep ovarian cancer at bay.
According to a new study, a daily intake of aspirin may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer in women by one fifth. However, it is early days yet to make clinical recommendations per researchers.
"Our study suggests that aspirin regimens, proven to protect against heart attack, may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer as well," said Britton Trabert, of the National Cancer Institute's division of cancer epidemiology, in a U.S. National Institutes of Health news release.
Researchers from the U.S. National Cancer Institute analyzed data from 12 studies, which observed around 8,000 women with ovarian cancer and 12,000 women who did not suffer from the disease. The researchers used the sampling to determine how the use of aspirin, as well as other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and acetaminophen (Tylenol) affect the risk of ovarian cancer.
Nearly 18 percent and 24 percent of the women used aspirin and non-aspirin NSAIDs regularly. About 16 percent used acetaminophen. Per the study, the women who used aspirin daily had a 20 percent lower risk of ovarian cancer when compared to women who used it less frequently.
Women who used non-aspirin NSAIDs at least once a week had a 10 percent lower risk of ovarian cancer, when compared to those who used them less frequently.
However, per researchers, this difference is not statistically significant. Moreover, the study found no link between the use of acetaminophen and ovarian cancer risk was found.
"However intriguing our results are, they should not influence current clinical practice," Trabert said. "Additional studies are needed to explore the delicate balance of risk and benefit for this potential chemopreventive agent, as well as studies to identify [how] aspirin may reduce ovarian cancer risk."
Previously, in other studies, aspirin has been associated with lower risk of other cancers like colon and skin. Aspirin has also been linked with a reduced risk of breast cancer recurring in an individual.
Since its early days yet to make clinical recommendations, researchers suggest that individuals should consult their doctors before beginning an aspirin regimen regularly. It must be remembered that the side effects of aspirin include upper gastrointestinal bleeding and it can even cause hemorrhagic strokes.
