Ibuprofen increases the risk of breast cancer by 51%

This study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2005 Jun 1;97(11):805-12

Study title and authors:

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use and breast cancer risk by stage and hormone receptor status.

Marshall SF, Bernstein L, Anton-Culver H, Deapen D, Horn-Ross PL, Mohrenweiser H, Peel D, Pinder R, Purdie DM, Reynolds P, Stram D, West D, Wright WE, Ziogas A, Ross RK.

Department of Preventive Medicine, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. smarshal@usc.edu

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15928301

The study analyzed data on 114,460 women aged 22 to 85 years to investigate the relationship between breast cancer and aspirin and ibuprofen use.

The study found:

• Women who used aspirin between 1 and 6 days a week had a 9% increase in breast cancer rates compared to women who rarely used aspirin.
• Women who used aspirin between 1 and 6 days a week in a period of over 5 years had a 12% increase in breast cancer rates compared to women who rarely used aspirin.
• Women who took ibuprofen daily had a 24% increase in breast cancer rates compared to women who rarely used ibuprofen.
• Women who took ibuprofen daily in a period of over 5 years had a 51% increase in breast cancer rates compared to women who rarely used ibuprofen.

This study shows that aspirin and ibuprofen use increase the incidence of breast cancer.