Aspirin May Prevent Certain Types of Skin Cancer, Studies Show
Aspirin may prevent certain types of skin cancer, according to a study.
The journal Cancer looked at melanoma in 60,000 post-menopausal Caucasian women, who are at highest risk of this disease. The study found that those who took aspirin a few times a week had a 20 percent lower risk of developing melanoma, according to NPR.
Dr. Jean Tang of Stanford University Medical School, the study's senior author, said that women who regularly took aspirin for five years or more had a 30 percent lower risk of cancer.
"There's nothing else that I know of that has as large an effect as what we're seeing with aspirin," Tang said.
The increased risk of melanoma is affected by sun exposure, smoking, and other lifestyle factors. These were all taken into consideration when conducting the study.
While this is not meant to encourage all women of white ethnicities to go out and buy aspirin, those at high risk for melanoma- meaning women who have had skin cancer in the past - are suggested to do so to prevent the disease.
"Aspirin works by reducing inflammation and this may be why using aspirin may lower your risk of developing melanoma," said study leader Dr Jean Tang, as reported by NYDaily News.
