title: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and risk of melanoma.
abstract: Because nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) inhibit tumor growth in vitro, we investigated the association between NSAIDs and melanoma to determine if there was epidemiologic evidence of a chemopreventive effect from these medications. Three hundred twenty-seven subjects with incident melanoma and 119 melanoma-free controls completed a structured interview assessing melanoma risk factors. The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) for use of nonaspirin NSAIDs was 0.58 (95% CI 0.31-1.11), in a comparison of subjects with melanoma to controls. After adjustment for melanoma risk factors, the OR was 0.71 (95% CI 0.23-2.02). Aspirin users had an unadjusted OR of 0.85 (95% CI 0.45-1.69) and an adjusted OR of 1.45 (95% CI 0.44-4.74). In this pilot study, we found no evidence of a significant association between analgesic use and melanoma risk when potential confounders are assessed. Based on conflicting reports in the literature, meta-analysis may be appropriate.
authors.affiliation: University of Michigan Cancer Center, 1500 East Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Joanne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Jeter
authors.forename: Joseph D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Bonner
authors.forename: Timothy M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Stephen B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Gruber