The pancreas is an organ that performs two important functions:
It produces juices for food digestion, and hormones for regulating
energy storage and use in the body. Cancer of the pancreas
is highly fatal, yet little is known about ways to avoid it.
Aspirin is in a family of painkillers called NSAIDs, which
include ibuprofen (e.g., Advil); studies have shown that taking
these drugs may help prevent colon or other cancers.
In a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute
spanning eight years, over 28,000 postmenopausal women were
classified into five categories based on use of aspirin: never;
less than once weekly; once a week; two-to-five times weekly;
or six or more times weekly. Products containing aspirin were
also considered, such as Bufferin, Anacin, or Excedrin.
Women taking aspirin or aspirin products at any frequency
were 43% less likely to develop pancreatic cancer than women
who never took them. The more aspirin taken, the less likely
women were to suffer from this form of cancer (women taking
aspirin six or more times per week were 60% less likely to
develop the cancer). Other NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen, were
not shown to have protective effects against pancreatic cancer,
important to note that diabetes tripled pancreatic cancer
risk in this study, and smoking cigarettes quadrupled risk.
Before taking any aspirin at all, talk to your doctor about
the necessity of taking it. Even drugs like aspirin, considered
"safe," can have many negative side effects if taken for prolonged
KE, Johnson TW, Lazovich D, et al. Association between nonsteroidal
anti-inflammatory drug use and the incidence of pancreatic
cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2002:94(15),
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