In a study from National Cancer Institute and elsewhere, scientists found that frequent aspirin use can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer, regardless of most genetic risk factors.
They found associations between frequent aspirin use and reduced risk of ovarian cancer in people with genetic risk factors less than and greater than the median.
In the study, researchers analyzed data from eight previous studies from the Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium to test the association between frequent aspirin use and ovarian cancer risk.
Frequent aspirin use was defined as self-reported daily or almost daily use for six months or longer. Researchers only included people from the eight studies with genetic data available.
The study included 4476 people with ovarian cancer and 6,659 people without cancer.
There were 575 patients and 1,030 healthy people who reported frequent aspirin use.
The team found the 13% reduction in ovarian cancer risk linked to frequent aspirin use was not affected by the patient’s polygenic risk score (PGS), a risk assessment based on known genetic correlations to the disease.
In the analysis, individuals with a PGS greater than the 80th percentile, the highest genetic risk group, did not show a reduced risk associated with aspirin use.
However, the researchers point out that while the study was unable to confirm a risk reduction, a reduction, even 13%, could be taking place for these individuals as well, and so should not be considered a null result but an area needing further study.
The researchers point out that serious adverse events can occur with aspirin use, including gastric ulcers and hemorrhagic stroke.
Additionally, ovarian cancer rates in the general population are low (1.3% of women, according to the American Cancer Society), and frequent aspirin use is not a recommended preventative measure for all women.
The researchers suggest that aspirin use could be selectively helpful for individuals with higher ovarian cancer PGS scores to improve the benefit-harm risk profile of frequent aspirin use.
If you care about Aspirin, please read studies about aspirin is linked to 26% higher risk of heart failure, and how to reduce stomach bleeding risk caused by aspirin use.
For more information about cancer, please see recent studies that low-carb diet could increase overall cancer risk, and results showing dairy foods linked to higher prostate cancer risk.
The study was conducted by Lauren M. Hurwitz et al and published in JAMA Network Open.
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