Aspirin use and lung cancer in men

Abstract

We examined prospectively the relation between regular aspirin use and lung cancer risk in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. Of 49 383 US men aged 40-75 years who completed biennial self-administered questionnaires that assessed aspirin use beginning in 1986, 328 developed lung cancer during 601453 person-years of follow-up through 31 December 2000. No information on aspirin dose was available. Controlling for current age, smoking status, and age at starting to smoke regularly, the relative risk (RR) of total lung cancer for regular users of aspirin (twice or more per week) at baseline compared to nonusers was 1.13 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.89-1.43). Results were similar for non-small-cell lung cancer (RR = 1.16; 95% CI = 0.88-1.54). No apparent dose-dependent association was observed for the frequency of aspirin use and lung cancer risk (P for trend = 0.64), and results remained null when consistent use of aspirin over time was examined. These findings do not suggest that regular aspirin use is associated with a reduced lung cancer risk. © 2003 Cancer Research UK.