Common painkillers such as aspirin may protect against skin cancer

A new study suggests that aspirin and other similar painkillers may help protect against skin cancer. Published early on-line in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the findings indicate that skin cancer prevention may be added to the benefits of these commonly used medications.

Previous studies suggest that taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which include aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen, as well as a variety of other non-prescription and prescription drugs, can decrease an individual's risk of developing some types of cancer. Sigrun Alba Johannesdottir, of the Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, and her colleagues looked to see if the medications might decrease the risk of the three major types of skin cancer: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and malignant melanoma.

The researchers analyzed medical records from northern Denmark from 1991 through 2009 and identified 1,974 diagnoses of squamous cell carcinoma, 13,316 diagnoses of basal cell carcinoma, and 3,242 diagnoses of malignant melanoma. They compared information, including prescription data, from these patients with information from 178,655 individuals without skin cancer.