Previous studies suggest that taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen, as well as a variety of other nonprescription and prescription drugs, can decrease an individual’s risk of developing some types of cancer. New study findings, published early online in Cancer, indicate that these drugs may specifically protect patients from skin cancer.
For the study, Sigrún Alba Jóhannesdóttir, BSc, of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, and her colleagues explored whether NSAIDs could decrease the risk of the 3 major types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma.
Among medical records from northern Denmark from 1991 through 2009, researchers identified 1974 diagnoses of squamous cell carcinoma, 13,316 diagnoses of basal cell carcinoma, and 3242 diagnoses of malignant melanoma. Information from these patients, including prescription data, was compared with information from 178,655 individuals without skin cancer.
Researchers discovered that individuals who filled more than 2 prescriptions for NSAIDs had a 15% decreased risk for developing squamous cell carcinoma and a 13% decreased risk for developing malignant melanoma compared with those who filled 2 or fewer prescriptions for the medications. This was especially true for patients who took the drugs for 7 or more years or took them at high intensity. On the other hand, NSAIDs did not seem to reduce the risk of developing basal cell carcinoma in general. However, the drugs did have a 15% reduction in risk for developing this type of cancer on less-exposed sites when taken long term and a 21% reduction in risk when taken at high intensity.
“We hope that the potential cancer-protective effect of NSAIDs will inspire more research on skin cancer prevention,” said Jóhannesdóttir. “Also, this potential cancer-protective effect should be taken into account when discussing benefits and harms of NSAID use.”
Source: Wiley-Blackwell.