COX-2 Inhibitors Reduce Breast Cancer Risk

A case-controlled study published January 30, 2006, in the open-access journal BMC Cancer demonstrated that daily use of selective COX-2 inhibitors, including celecoxib (Celebrex) and rofecoxib (Vioxx), was associated with a 71% reduction in the risk of breast cancer. Non-selective COX-2 inhibitors, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, also reduced the risk of breast cancer. This study highlights the potential of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for the prevention of breast cancer.

Dr. Randall Harris and colleagues from The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health (OSU; Columbus, Ohio, USA), gathered data on 323 patients with invasive breast cancer soon after their diagnosis. The investigators correlated the patients for age, race, and county of residence with 649 control individuals with no personal history of cancer. Information collected for patients and controls included information on breast cancer risk factors, and the use of selective COX-2 inhibitors and other NSAIDs.

The OSU researchers findings demonstrate that selective COX-2 inhibitors, as a group, were associated with a considerably reduced risk of breast cancer (OR = 0.29) when taken daily for at least two years: a daily dose of 200 mg celecoxib decreased the risk of breast cancer by 83% and a daily dose of 25 mg rofecoxib reduced the risk of breast cancer by 64%. Daily use of non-selective COX-2 inhibitors--aspirin (325 mg), ibuprofen (200 mg), and naproxen (250 mg)--also significantly reduced the risk of breast cancer, but less so than regular use of selective COX-2 inhibitors. Ibuprofen and aspirin considerably decreased the risk of developing breast cancer when taken at least every other day for at least five years. Regular intake of acetaminophen, an analgesic lacking COX-2 activity, had no effect on the risk of breast cancer.





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