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Aspirin may reduce the risk of the most common type of breast cancer. In a recent study, as little as one pill a week helped.
A lot of studies have found a link between aspirin use and cancer risk reduction. This is the first study to examine whether aspirin may influence growth of specific types of tumors.
The past year and a half has been anything but a walk in the park for Paulette Liebowitz.
Paulette Liebowitz/ Breast Cancer Survivor: "One mastectomy on my right side. I had reconstructive surgery, I had chemotherapy, I had radiation."
For the past eighteen months Paulette has been fighting a battle against breast cancer. She was surprised by the diagnosis because she didn't smoke, led a healthy lifestyle and got a mammogram every year.
Paulette: "I did what I was supposed to do, I thought, and it happened."
Paulette's diagnosis is not unique. Doctors don't know what causes most breast cancers. But new research shows aspirin may reduce the risk of the most common type.
Dr. Alfred Neugut/ NY Presbyterian-Columbia: "We found that women who used regularly had about a 25 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer."
Researchers analyzed almost three thousand patients. They discovered women who took aspirin once a week reduced their risk of cancer by twenty percent.
And the results were even better for frequent users. Those who took seven or more aspirin a week saw a 28 percent lower risk.
But it apparently doesn't work for everyone.
Researchers also discovered that aspirin only seems to have a protective effect against hormone-receptor positive breast cancers, those fueled by estrogen or progesterone.
Hormone receptor positive breast cancer is the majority of breast cancer. It constitutes about 70 to 75 percent of breast cancers.
"So, there's no reason to start taking aspirin to prevent or reduce the risk of breast cancer. More research needs to be done. But if you're taking aspirin for cardiovascular health, you may incur additional benefits."
As for why aspirin may work-- We're learning more all the time about the role of chronic inlammation and cancer.
Aspirin, like other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, reduces inflammation. Inflammation is our body's first defense against infection. Get a cold, and your immune system kicks in.
But sometimes the process doesn't shut down, and inflammation becomes chronic and may turn abnormal cells into cancerous cells.
