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Popping a daily aspirin could protect you from melanoma, according to a new study.
Researchers at Harvard Medical School examined the health records of 1,000 patients, 400 of which had tested positive for the deadly form of skin cancer that affects more than 68,000 people every year.
The researchers then asked the patients about their use of both statins and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin and ibuprofen. Melanoma rates were almost 50 percent lower among patients who had taken aspirin daily for five years or longer.
Why? Aspirin’s anti-inflammatory abilities may counteract the growth of tumors related to melanoma, according to the study—but that hypothesis isn’t yet proven.
Other NSAIDs, in fact, may be just as effective at fighting melanoma, but only aspirin is prescribed for daily use in some patients to help lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.
So unless you’re taking a daily aspirin on doctor’s orders, don’t start now. Instead, make sunscreen your first line of defense—it’s safer. Follow these steps when slathering it on, and make sure you’re buying the right kind.
—Markham Heid
Researchers at Harvard Medical School examined the health records of 1,000 patients, 400 of which had tested positive for the deadly form of skin cancer that affects more than 68,000 people every year.
The researchers then asked the patients about their use of both statins and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like aspirin and ibuprofen. Melanoma rates were almost 50 percent lower among patients who had taken aspirin daily for five years or longer.
Why? Aspirin’s anti-inflammatory abilities may counteract the growth of tumors related to melanoma, according to the study—but that hypothesis isn’t yet proven.
Other NSAIDs, in fact, may be just as effective at fighting melanoma, but only aspirin is prescribed for daily use in some patients to help lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.
So unless you’re taking a daily aspirin on doctor’s orders, don’t start now. Instead, make sunscreen your first line of defense—it’s safer. Follow these steps when slathering it on, and make sure you’re buying the right kind.
—Markham Heid