"About 50 percent of women with breast cancer who take aspirin, less likely to die than those not taking them," said lead researcher Dr. Michelle Holmes, who is also professor of epidemiology at Harvard Medical School and School of Public Health, Boston, United States, such as reported by HealthDay. The research was published online on 16 February in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Broadly speaking, the light of Holmes, for women who took aspirin more in a week will have a higher life expectancy. This is done by comparing aspirin users and non. For example convalescing patients who take aspirin for 6-7 days a week, they will have a 64 percent reduction in risk of death.
Meanwhile, those who took aspirin for 2-5 days a week, with a variety of different reasons-will even experience a reduction to 71 percent risk of death. However, the most important is the data 50 percent reduction in overall risk. This study did not include the dose taken, but the only time in a week usage.
Use of aspirin in the same way also able to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence. "Even a surprise, this is a strong effect of aspirin," said Holmes. Although he admits this is only the study by observation, not a definitive determination of cause and effect.
How aspirin can reduce the recurrence, Holmes did not know exactly. However, recent research is consistent with several previous studies. "We appreciate very well that cancer is a disease of inflammation and aspirin is anti-inflammatory drugs," he said. The researchers speculate, aspirin lowers the possibility of the hormone estrogen in the blood or prevent the spread of early cancer.
For this study, Holmes and colleagues evaluated the use of aspirin among women at least one year after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The women, diagnosed with stage 1, 2, or 3 breast cancer between 1976 and 2002. All of these women is the Nurses' Health Study participants.
During the research process, until the death of a woman in June 2006, 341 women died of breast cancer and 400 people because of recurrence or other metastatic disease. However, Holmes asserted aspirin will never be a drug recommended for the cure of cancer.
Aspirin also causes negative side effects in some aspects. "It (the drug) can cause GI tract bleeding in patients," he said. Currently it needs further study about the results of this study. But, he added, when a woman with breast cancer and aspirin for other reasons (such as bone pain or tenderness), she will feel comfortable when he knows can prevent breast cancer does not become severe.
"This is the largest study specifically the use of aspirin and breast cancer recurrence and survival," said Eric Jacobs, Director of Pharmacoepidemiology in the American Cancer Society. Previous research has produced findings that a broader and not specific.
"The results of this study interesting, there are some important warning," said Jacobs. As also said Holmes, he noted that these findings do not prove cause and effect. "As a noted researcher of this study, do not talk about aspirin during chemotherapy because it may be inspired by the success of cancer patients who continue to survive. Do not get your hopes up too high on the use of aspirin, "said Jacobs.
Both Holmes and Jacobs agree that it is too early to tell breast cancer patients who survive because of aspirin, with the goal of reducing breast cancer recurrence or avoid death. According to them, patients must communicate with the doctor more about what is best for their treatment process.
Breast cancer is the most common known women. Every year more than 250,000 new cases diagnosed in Europe and more than 175,000 in the United States. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2000 an estimated 1.2 million women diagnosed with breast cancer, and more than 700,000 of them died.
In Indonesia alone, according to Health Ministry data, cases of breast cancer this year reached 8227 cases (16.85 percent). Indeed lower than in 2006 reaching 8327 cases (19.64 percent). However, tumor or cancer is still the seventh leading cause of death in Indonesia with 5.7 percent presentation. The prevalence of tumors or cancer in Indonesia is 4.3 per 1,000 population.
Causes of breast cancer itself has not yet known, but there are some risk factors that cause a woman to be more likely to suffer from breast cancer, including age above 60 years, had suffered from breast cancer, family history, genetic and hormonal factors, menarche (menstruation first) before age 12, menopause after age 55 years, first pregnancy after age 30 years or had never been pregnant, use birth control pills or estrogen replacement therapy, postmenopausal obesity and alcohol.
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