ASPIRIN AND REDUCED RISK OF ESOPHAGEAL-CARCINOMA

Background. Aspirin and other nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSA IDs) have been shown experimentally to inhibit chemically induced esop hageal cancers. An epidemiologic study of more than 600,000 adults in the United States followed for 6 years found that aspirin use was asso ciated with a reduced risk of death from esophageal cancer. Methods. T he relation of aspirin use and esophageal cancer was examined using da ta from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I ) and the National Epidemiologic Follow-up Studies (NEFS). Of the 14,4 07 United States residents followed for 12-16 years, esophageal cancer developed in 15. Persons were classified as nonusers, occasional user s, or regular users of aspirin based on their response to two question s at the baseline examination: whether they had taken aspirin in the p ast 30 days and whether they had used pain medications regularly durin g the prior 6 months. Results. Occasional use was associated with a 90 % decreased risk (95% confidence interval, 0.01-0.76) of developing es ophageal cancer, and no person classified as a regular user developed the disease. Adjusting for cigarette smoking (ever vs. never) and alco hol intake (at least monthly vs. not) did not explain the finding. Con clusion. Aspirin use was associated with a 90% decreased risk of devel oping esophageal carcinoma. Further studies to determine whether aspir in is protective against both squamous cell esophageal carcinoma and a denocarcinoma of the esophagus are indicated.