Aspirin has potential as a chemopreventive drug for African-American women

Aspirin as a chemopreventive drug breast cancer Recently studied among African-American women, and research result According to an article published in, it shows the potential for use among these patients with estrogen receptor (ER) negative or triple-negative disorders. Breast cancer research..

“Few studies have investigated these associations between African-American women,” the authors said. “Does any previous study of African-American women have associations that differ by ER subtype?” I haven’t evaluated it. “

Investigators collected data from Black Women Health SurveyA prospective analysis of 53,126 African-American women (<1, 1, 2, 3-4, or) who completed a questionnaire on aspirin use and duration in an ongoing national cohort study. >5 years), 1995 baseline and follow-up. All women were 21-69 years old and were sent a follow-up survey every two years.

For the purposes of this study, regular use of aspirin was defined as “use at least 3 days a week.”

In a 22-year follow-up (1195-2017), 1919 diagnoses of invasive breast cancer were made and ER status was available in 1681 (88%).

• 1112 had ER-positive breast cancer,
• 569 had ER negative breast cancer
• Of the ER-negative cases, 368 had known HER2 status and
• 284 cases with known HER status were triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Compared to non-aspirin use, the results show that its regular use is associated with an 8% lower overall risk of breast cancer (HR, 0.92; 95% CI,). 0.81-1.04). This risk remains relatively unchanged in ER-positive women (HR, 0.98, 95% CI, 0.84-1.15), but regular use of aspirin is at risk for disease in ER-negative breast cancer women. It decreased significantly by 19% (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.64-1.04) and 30% in TNBC patients (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.49-0.99).

Analysis also revealed:

1. Current aspirin users were older and had a higher average body mass index than non-users: 44 vs. 38 years, 29.1 vs. 27.7 kg / m²,Each.
2. Current users were more likely to drink alcohol: 39% vs 28%.
3. Current users are likely not educated above high school, 83% vs. 72%.
4. Considering the use of aspirin for at least 10 years, women in the ER-positive breast cancer study had a 19% reduction in their risk of disease (HR, 0.81, 95% CI, 0.60-1.09).
5. No trend in aspirin use was seen in TNBC patients.
6. Past use of aspirin has not been associated with overall breast cancer risk.
7. Adjusting for the use of patients with other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) did not affect the study results.
8. High hip-to-waist ratios in current aspirin users with ER-positive or -negative disease were inversely associated with disease risk (> 0.85).
9. among close ER-negative women who were breastfed had an inverse correlation with risk compared to women who had never breastfed.

The authors believe that studies with a large population of African-American women need to confirm the results. Limitations in their findings include self-reported data, lack of information on aspirin doses, and failure to evaluate non-aspirin NSAIDs individually. Research strengths include over 20 years of follow-up and detailed characterization of risk factors for breast cancer.

“The results of this study support the hypothesis that regular use of aspirin is particularly associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer in ER.[-negative] And TN breast cancer in African-American women, “the researchers concluded. “If the results of this study are confirmed, aspirin may represent a potential opportunity for ER chemoprevention.[-negative] And TN breast cancer. “

reference

Bertrand KA, Bethea TN, Gerlovin H, etc. Use of Aspirin and Risk of Breast Cancer in African-American Women. Breast cancer resolution.. Published online on September 4, 2020. doi: 10.1186 / s13058-020-01335-1