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Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Ovarian Cancer Risk Reduced by a Third with Regular
Use of Over-the-Counter Medicine
High risk for senior citizens reduced by
acetaminophen (Tylenol)
 July
6, 2006 - Using acetaminophen (paracetamol outside the U.S.)
regularly could reduce the risk of ovarian cancer by almost a third,
according to a detailed analysis in the July issue of British Journal of
Clinical Pharmacology. Acetaminophen is sold in the over-the-counter
in products like Tylenol. The likelihood of developing ovarian cancer increases
as women age. Most ovarian cancers occur in women over the age of 50,
with the highest risk in senior women over age 60.
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A research team from Athens University found that
the risk fell by up to 30 per cent when they analyzed the results of
major studies carried out on more than 746,000 women over a six-year
period: 4,405 of the women in the eight major studies – from the USA, UK
and Denmark – had ovarian cancer.
The team looked at all studies covering
acetaminophen and ovarian cancer from 1966 to 2004. These were then
scrutinized using sophisticated meta-analysis techniques.
"Meta-analysis involves doing a large amount of
research into what has been published, summarizing the results and
combining them using statistical methods" explains lead researcher Dr
Stefanos Bonovas from the Greek Ministry of Health.
"Analyzing a wide
range studies can often throw new light on a problem and raise new
research questions.
"In this case our analysis of eight major studies –
covering nearly three-quarters of a million women - revealed a strong
correlation between acetaminophen use and a reduced risk of ovarian
cancer."
Seven of the studies looked at the links between
acetaminophen use and the incidence of ovarian cancer and the largest
study looked at the link between acetaminophen use and ovarian cancer
deaths.
The researchers used a working definition of
"regular use" as the highest frequency of drug use reported in the
individual studies. This definition varied slightly between studies. In
the largest study – which covered more than a third of the women
diagnosed with ovarian cancer – it was defined as more than 30 tablets
in the month before the study started.
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More Helpful Information |
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About Acetaminophen (Paracetamol)
Paracetamol is known as acetaminophen in
the U.S. and is a common analgesic and antipyretic drug that is
used for the relief of fever, headaches, and other minor aches
and pains. It is a major ingredient in numerous cold and flu
medications and many prescription analgesics. It is remarkably
safe in recommended doses, but because of its wide availability,
deliberate or accidental overdoses are fairly common.
The words acetaminophen and paracetamol
both come from the chemical names for the compound: N-acetyl-para-aminophenol
and para-acetyl-amino-phenol. In some contexts, it is shortened
to apap, for N-acetyl-para-amino-phenol.
Click for more at Wikipedia.
Pain Medicines
Over-the-counter (OTC) medicines are those that are available
without a prescription from a doctor. Some examples of OTC pain
relievers are acetaminophen and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (NSAIDs). Acetaminophen products include Tylenol. NSAIDs
include aspirin, ibuprofen (i.e., Motrin), ketoprofen (brand
name Orudis KT), and naproxen sodium (brand name Aleve). Some
products contain both aspirin and acetaminophen (i.e., Extra
Strength Excedrin).
Both acetaminophen and NSAIDs reduce
fever and relieve pain caused by muscle aches and stiffness, but
only NSAIDs can also reduce inflammation (swelling and
irritation). Acetaminophen and NSAIDs also work differently.
NSAIDs relieve pain by reducing the production of
prostaglandins, which are hormone-like substances that cause
pain. Acetaminophen works on the parts of the brain that receive
the "pain messages."
Click for more on pain relief medicine by Cleveland Clinic.
>>
What You Need to Know about Ovarian Cancer (National Cancer
Institute)
>>
More on Ovarian Cancer at Medline Plus |
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"Ovarian cancer remains the most fatal
gynecological malignancy" says Dr Bonovas. "Its high mortality rate –
mainly due to a combination of ineffective screening and the limited
success of therapies for advanced disease - makes ovarian cancer a major
health concern.
"Strategies that focus on prevention may therefore
provide the most rational approach for reducing deaths from this form of
cancer.
"Because acetaminophen is so widely used, a link
with a decreased risk of ovarian cancer could have important public
health implications."
The authors believe that further research among
women with a high risk of developing ovarian cancer would provide
further clues to the drug's protective qualities.
"The risks of long-term acetaminophen use -
including liver and chronic kidney failure – may outweigh the potential
benefits of preventing ovarian cancer in low-risk cases" concludes Dr
Bonovas.
"However we believe that a randomized trial in
women with a high risk of developing the disease might be appropriate.
Further research is also needed into how this protective mechanism
actually works.
The authors stress that they are not suggesting
that women adopt this possible method of risk prevention at this stage.
"But we do feel that our study highlights the need
for further research into this highly important link between a simple
over-the-counter medicine and a very aggressive form of cancer" says Dr. Bonovas.
More about the research
Dr Bonovas works for the Department of
Epidemiological Surveillance and Intervention at the Greek Ministry of
Health's Hellenic Centre for Infectious Diseases Control and carries out
his research at Athens University.
This study was carried out in association with
University researcher Dr Kalitsa Filioussi, under the supervision of Dr
Nikolaos M Sitaras, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of
Pharmacology.
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