Daily Aspirin Nearly Doubles Melanoma Risk
Once-daily aspirin use is associated with a nearly 2-fold increased risk of melanoma in men, but not in women, according to new research.1
However, “this does not mean men should stop aspirin therapy to lower the risk of heart attack,” said Beatrice Nardone, MD, PhD, senior study author and research assistant professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois, in a press release.2
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Dr Nardone and colleagues arrived at their conclusion following a study of 195,140 aspirin- and non-aspirin-exposed patients aged 18 to 89 years with no prior history of melanoma.
Aspirin-exposed participants (n = 1187) had taken a once-daily dose of 81 to 325 mg between January 2005 and December 2006, and had at least 5 years of follow-up data. Non-aspirin exposed participants served as controls.
Results showed that 26 (2.9%) aspirin-exposed participants later developed melanoma compared with 1676 (0.86%) non-aspirin-exposed participants.
Dr Nardone and colleagues found that aspirin-exposed men had a nearly doubled risk of developing subsequent melanoma (adjusted relative risk 1.83) compared with non-aspirin-exposed men.
With these findings in mind, the authors emphasized the importance of increasing patient education about sun exposure, avoiding tanning beds, and receiving skin checks from a dermatologist, especially among those with a high risk for skin cancers.
—Christina Vogt
Reference:
1. Orrell KA, Cices AD, Guido N, et al. Malignant melanoma associated with chronic once daily aspirin exposure in males: a large, single-center, urban, U.S. patient population cohort study from the Research on Adverse Drug events And Reports (RADAR) project [Published online March 27, 2018]. J Am Acad Dermatol. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2018.03.031
2. Paul M. Daily aspirin linked to double melanoma risk in men [press release]. Northwestern Now. May 3, 2018. https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2018/may/daily-aspirin-linked-to-higher-melanoma-risk-in-men/ Accessed on May 4, 2018.
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