Over-the-counter painkillers may reduce risk of skin cancer: Study

Taking aspirin and other over-the-counter, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may help lower the risk of skin cancer, according to a new study.

The scientists belonging to Aarhus University Hospital and two California institutions (the Cancer Prevention Institute in Fremont and Stanford University School of Medicine) undertook an extensive research to substantiate their claims.

In Aarhus, the researchers analysed prescription databases and health information registries, including the Danish Cancer Registry and the Danish Civil Registration System, They studied the death records concerning nearly 2,000 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, about 13,300 cases of basal cell carcinoma and nearly 3,250 cases of malignant melanoma diagnosed between1991 and 2009 when the patients were at least 20 years old.

The medical records and prescription registry of these people compared with 179,000 healthy Danes has shown that aspirin and NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen (Advil) and naproxen (Aleve) and both older and newer types of COX-2 inhibitors, have suppressed the rate of cancer causing compared with other drugs.

Aarhus University Hospital department of clinical epidemiology and study lead author Sigrun Alba Johannesdottir said their study has showen that users of common painkillers, known as NSAIDs, has likely reduced by15% and 13% the risk of getting squamous cell carcinoma or malignant melanoma, respectively.

The study has also revealed that the risk-lowering was stronger in those who used the drugs for longer periods of time or more intensively.