NSAIDs may reduce colorectal cancer risk

BOSTON, July 24 (UPI) -- A study of U.S. Medicare patients provides more evidence that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer.

Earlier randomized trials had shown that NSAID treatment can prevent the development of precancerous colorectal polyps, but whether or not such therapy also reduces the risk of invasive colorectal cancer has not yet been confirmed. Those trials used relatively low doses of aspirin and showed no significant differences in colorectal cancer rates between the aspirin and placebo groups.

"This is good news for people who take NSAIDs regularly for osteoarthritis," lead author Dr. Elizabeth Lamont, of the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, said in a statement.

"Although patients face risks such as bleeding or kidney damage from this therapy, they probably are at a lower risk of developing colorectal cancer."

Because of the risks posed by the dosage used to treat osteoarthritis, the researchers stress that currently available NSAIDs should not be used solely to prevent cancer, according to the study published in the August issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.