Association between acetaminophen or nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and risk of developing ovarian, breast, or colon cancer.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the association between exposure to acetaminophen (paracetamol) or nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and risk of developing ovarian, breast, or colon cancer.


METHODS
Retrospective case-control study


METHODS
General practice offices.


METHODS
Four hundred eighty-three women with ovarian cancer and 1877 women matched for age, years of medical history in computer record, general practice attended, and calendar time; 3706 women with breast cancer and 14,155 matched control subjects; and 635 women with colon cancer and 2434 matched control subjects.


METHODS
United Kingdom-based General Practice Research Database was searched for women aged 50-89 years with a first-time diagnosis of ovarian, breast, or colon cancer and for matched controls to assess prescription analgesic exposure.


RESULTS
Regular acetaminophen exposure (> or = 30 prescriptions) was associated with a slightly decreased risk of developing breast (odds ratio [OR] 0.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.7-1.0) but not ovarian (OR 1.0, 95% CI 0.6-1.5) or colon (OR 1.0, 95% Cl 0.7-1.4) cancer. Regular NSAID exposure was associated with a reduced risk of colon (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.9) but not ovarian or breast cancer.


CONCLUSIONS
We found no evidence for a decreased ovarian cancer risk for women with regular acetaminophen or NSAID exposure.
Meier
Christoph R
CR
Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland. Christoph.Meier@unibas.ch
Schmitz
Stephen
S
Jick
Hershel
H
D000082:Acetaminophen / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
D000700:Analgesics; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs; D000082:Acetaminophen