Prostate news article, October 2004
| ASPIRIN CAN
HELP PROSTATE CANCER VICTIMS LIVE LONGER, SAY SCIENTISTS
By: Angus Howarth Published in: THE SCOTSMAN Tuesday 5th October 2004 |
SCIENTISTS believe that aspirin can help men with prostate cancer live longer.
The headache pill and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have already been shown to lower the risk of a number of cancers, including prostate.
But the latest research indicates that they can delay the spread of prostate cancer in men who have the disease and improve their survival chances.
Scientists at the Fox Chase Cancer Centre in Philadelphia, studied 1,206 men who had undergone radiotherapy for localised prostate cancer.
They compared the long-term progress of 232 men who had used NSAIDs regularly before treatment, with 974 who had not. A marked difference between the two groups was seen over an average period of four and a half years.
Dr Khanh Nguyen, who led the study, said: "Pre-treatment NSAID use was associated with significant delays in distant metastases (cancer spread), decreased rates of second cancers, and improvement in overall survival. Our data suggests a potential benefit of NSAID in managing prostate cancer."
NSAID use remained associated with increased survival even after taking into account variables such as age and radiation dose.
The research did not look into whether taking aspirin-like drugs after diagnosis and treatment improved outcomes, but the findings suggest it might.
Previous US research indicated that regular use of aspirin, ibuprofen and other NSAIDs may protect against prostate cancer. Men aged 60 and older who took NSAIDs daily reduced their risk of getting the disease by as much as 60 per cent. The protection was lower for younger men, and higher for those who were older.
Regular doses of aspirin are often recommended for men at risk of heart disease because the drug helps prevent clotting. However, care must be taken long-term because it can lead to stomach ulcers.
Prostate cancer has overtaken lung cancer as the most common men's cancer in the UK - claiming 10,000 lives a year.