title: Regular aspirin use and nasopharyngeal cancer risk: A case-control study in Italy.
abstract: Regular aspirin use has been associated to decreased risk of several cancers, but evidence on nasopharyngeal carcinoma is scanty. We conducted a hospital-based case-control study in Italy, enrolling 198 Caucasian patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Controls were 592 cancer-free Caucasian patients admitted to the same catchment areas as cases; controls were frequency matched according to sex, age, and area of residence. Regular aspirin use was defined as taking at least one aspirin a week for at least 6 months. Three cases (1.5%) and 27 controls (4.5%) reported regular aspirin use (odds ratio=0.24; 95% CI: 0.07-0.87). The median duration of consumption was 15 months among cases and 60 months among controls. Although study findings should be considered with caution due to limited sample size, they provide further evidence on the protective effect of aspirin use in head and neck cancers.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, CRO Aviano National Cancer Institute, IRCCS, Aviano, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Maso
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, IRCCS - Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche "Mario Negri", Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bosetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: La Vecchia
authors.affiliation: Clinica Otorinolaringoiatrica DNTB, Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Garavello
authors.affiliation: Unit of Epidemiology, Istituto Tumori "Fondazione Pascale IRCCS", Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Montella
authors.affiliation: Departement of Biomedical Sciences, Università di Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Libra
authors.affiliation: Unit of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, CRO Aviano National Cancer Institute, IRCCS, Aviano, Italy.
authors.forename: Diego
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Serraino
authors.affiliation: Unit of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, CRO Aviano National Cancer Institute, IRCCS, Aviano, Italy. Electronic address: polesel@cro.it.
authors.forename: Jerry
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Polesel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001241:Aspirin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002277:Carcinoma; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000077274:Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma; D009303:Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D000894:Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal; D001241:Aspirin
keywords: Aspirin use; Case-control study; Head and neck cancer; Nasopharyngeal carcinoma; Risk factor