Long-term use of daily aspirin may prevent melanoma

FDA allows silicone breast implants to remain on market
July 21, 2011
Experts concerned about growing number of youth with type 2 diabetes
July 24, 2011
Show all

Long-term use of daily aspirin may prevent melanoma

It turns out that an aspirin a day may keep melanoma at bay, according to a new study

MSNBC reported, “After scrutinizing the medical records of 1,000 people, an international team of researchers have determined that the risk of melanoma was cut by almost half when people took a daily dose of aspirin for at least five years.”

Interestingly, “there was also a hint that other NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen (marketed as Advil and Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve), might reduce melanoma risk if taken regularly over a long period of time.”

However, according to a report in the Daily Mail, Dr Maryam Asgari, from the University of California San Francisco, said she was not convinced by the findings.

She published a larger study in 2008 that failed to find a link between taking aspirin or NSAIDs and skin cancer.

Dr Asgari warned that people should not conclude that popping a few painkillers will reduce their risk of skin cancer. She added that painkillers including aspirin and ibuprofen have side effects such as stomach bleeding.

Melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer, killing almost 9,000 people in the U.S. last year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

“Wearing suncream and staying out of the sun when it is strongest are still the best ways of preventing skin cancer.”

You can read more about the proper use of sunscreens in my blog, “New Guidelines for Sunscreens.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.