Women who regularly use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have better survival after a colorectal cancer diagnosis, research indicates.

During 2007, an estimated 112,340 cases of colon cancer and 41,420 cases of rectal cancer were diagnosed in the US, making colorectal cancer the third most common cancer among US men and women.

It’s been shown that regular, long-term use of aspirin or other NSAID - such as ibuprofen or naproxen - reduces the risk of developing colorectal cancer, but, until now, potential survival benefits associated with NSAID use had not been established.

To investigate, Dr. Jason A. Zell, from the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues analyzed data from 621 women in the California Teachers Study with colorectal cancer.

Prior to their diagnosis, roughly 64 percent did not use NSAIDs regularly, 17 percent used them 1 to 6 days per week, and 20 percent reported daily use. Overall, roughly 17 percent of the women had regularly taken NSAIDs for less than 5 years and approximately 18 percent reported regular use extending back 5 years or more.

Zell’s team tracked the women from the date of cancer diagnosis until death or December 31, 2005, which yielded an average follow-up of 3.4 years.

They found that regular NSAID use before colorectal cancer diagnosis (defined as 1 to 3 times per week, 4 to 6 times per week, or daily use) was associated with a 42 percent reduced risk of death from colorectal cancer, compared to no regular NSAID use.

In addition, compared with no regular NSAID use, regular pre-diagnosis use was associated with improved overall survival and regular use for 5 years or more was associated with improved overall survival and survival specific to colorectal cancer.

If confirmed in other studies, these findings may have “important implications” for cancer prevention,” the researchers note in the journal Cancer.

Zell told Reuters Health that several NSAID-based colorectal cancer prevention clinical trials are already in the late stages of development. “It is hoped that these new clinical trials will provide definitive recommendations for colorectal cancer risk reduction among colorectal cancer survivors,” he said.

SOURCE: Cancer, online October 13, 2009.