Long-term use of "NSAID" type pain relievers, such as aspirin and Motrin, appears to reduce the risk of oral cancer, a disease that is closely linked to tobacco use, new research suggests. Unfortunately, it may also increase the odds of dying from heart attack or stroke, so careful monitoring is required, Reuters reports. "When we analyzed the data, NSAID use was tied to a reduced risk of oral cancer, similar to what has been seen with colon cancer, but that didn't translate into a survival benefit," lead author Dr. Jon Sudbo, from The Norwegian Radium Hospital in Norway, told Reuters Health. "So, we went back and looked for an explanation and that's when we found a doubling of the risk" of death from heart attack and stroke. NSAIDs work by blocking so-called "COX" enzymes. In addition, to being involved in pain, these enzymes appear to play a role in oral cancer, and therefore blocking them with an NSAID might have a beneficial effect. Two previous studies have investigated this topic, but they only included aspirin use and yielded conflicting results. The current findings, which appear in The Lancet, are based on a comparison of NSAID use between 454 heavy smokers with oral cancer and 454 similar smokers without cancer. Overall, 263 subjects had used NSAIDs for at least 6 months, 83 had used acetaminophen (Tylenol), and 562 had used neither drug. --more 2248 Local Time 1948 GMT
