Nashville, Tenn. — Women who take aspirin at least three times a week for an extended period may decrease their risk of ovarian cancer by as much as 40 percent, a new study shows.
The study's findings parallel previous studies on the preventative powers of aspirin for heart disease and cancers that begin in the colon or rectum.
However, women should realize that long-term use carries risks, including ulcers, says the lead author, Dr. Arslan Akhmedkhanov of New York University School of Medicine.
The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health and released Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists, suggests that regular aspirin use for at least six months reduces the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer.
Epithelial ovarian cancer, the most common ovarian cancer, originates in the cells that cover the surface of a woman's ovary.
Akhmedkhanov said his team's research could affect the treatment and prevention of gynecologic cancers but that more research is needed.
He studied aspirin an anti-inflammatory because chronic inflammation could be related to epithelial ovarian cancer, as it is in endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease.
The study involved 748 women enrolled in the New York University Women's Health Study who answered questions about their aspirin use from 1994 to 1996.
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