Jump to full article: New Scientist, 2002-06-25
Author: NewScientist.com news service
Intro: Regular use of aspirin more than halves the risk of lung cancer in women who smoke, according to research in New York. But other cancer experts warn the study group is small, and say smokers should give up - not take aspirin to reduce their lung cancer risk.
The 12-year study of 889 smoking and non-smoking women - 81 of whom developed lung cancer - found that those who took aspirin three times a week for six months or more were a third less likely to have developed lung cancer.
The drug was particularly effective in preventing non-small cell lung cancer - the most common type, which is associated with tobacco smoking. The women who smoked and took aspirin regularly had a 61 per cent lower chance of developing this form of lung cancer than women who smoked and did not take aspirin. Taking aspirin also slightly reduced the risk of small cell lung cancer - caused by radiation exposure during radiotherapy, for example.
"We believe aspirin has an anti-inflammatory effect on the component present in tobacco smoke that causes inflammation and lung cancer," says Paolo Toniolo, at New York University School of Medicine, who carried out the study. He says it is not clear what that component is.
"But the results are quite extraordinary and suggest that aspirin should be prescribed as a cancer prevention method for former smokers who retain chronic inflammation of the lungs for decades after stopping smoking," he told New Scientist.
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