Washington: A new study has shown that postmenopausal women who take aspirin and other analgesics regularly have lower estrogen levels, which could contribute to a decreased risk of breast or ovarian cancer.
“We observed some significant inverse associations between concentrations of several estrogens and the use of aspirin, aspirin plus non-aspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and all analgesics combined,” said Margaret A. Gates, Sc.D., research fellow at the Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.
“Our results suggest that among postmenopausal women, regular users of aspirin and other analgesics may have lower estrogen levels than non-users,” Gates added.
Gates and colleagues examined the association between use of aspirin, NSAIDs and acetaminophen and concentrations of estrogens and androgens among 740 postmenopausal women who participated in the Nurses” Health Study.
Frequency of all analgesic use was inversely associated with estradiol, free estradiol, estrone sulfate and the ratio of estradiol to testosterone.
Average estradiol levels were 10.5 percent lower among women who regularly used aspirin or non-aspirin NSAIDs. Similarly, free estradiol levels were 10.6 per cent lower and estrone sulfate levels were 11.1 percent lower among regular users of aspirin or other NSAIDs.
Among regular users of any analgesic (aspirin, NSAIDs or acetaminophen), levels of these hormones were 15.2 per cent, 12.9 per cent and 12.6 per cent lower, respectively, according to Gates.
These study results are published in ‘Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.’
Breast thermography is one of the procedures that leads to early breast cancer detection. A thermography exam can also bring about a better understanding of underlying health issues that may contribute to breast cancer.
What is Breast Thermography?
- Breast thermography is a 15 minute non-invasive exam that tests the physiology of the breasts and surrounding areas. Thermography detects changes in the breasts like fibroids, vascular disease or infection.
Angiogenesis
- Thermography is also used in to determine the presence of angiogenesis, or a new formation of a blood vessel. Tumors grow when connected to blood vessels–thermography can display the first signs of this, so the tumor can be removed early.
Hormone Balance
- Years of over-exposure to estrogen is the main cause of breast cancer, according to Pacific Chiropractic and Research Center. A thermography exam can determine if there is too much estrogen in the breast tissue.
Family History
- According to BreastThermography.com, 75 percent of women who get breast cancer are not genetically predisposed. Abnormal thermography findings can help doctors discover early treatment options.
Younger Women
- According to Preventative Health Lab, 23 percent of all breast cancer develops in women under the age of 49; getting a thermography exam as part of a health checkup can give doctors an advantage in finding early treatments
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, with 42 000 new cases each year in France. Breast cancer will affect one in eight women during her life.
Risk Factors
Some risk factors have been identified (a woman with these factors will have a higher risk of developing another breast cancer).
First, the more we advance in age, the risk is high: two thirds of these cancers actually occur after 50 years.
The family history then: a cancer in a first-degree relative, mother or sister increases the risk by five. Hereditary cancers are rare: only 5% of women with breast cancer carry a genetic predisposition that they transmit to their daughters. The personal story is another one of these triggers: the risk of developing a second breast cancer is four to five times higher than average.
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Getting older — the older you get, the greater your risk of breast cancer
A personal history of breast or ovarian cancer
Having a mother, daughter or sister who has had breast cancer
Having a previous biopsy showing hyperplasia or carcinoma in situ
being young (<12 years) at the time of your first period
starting menopause after age 55
having an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 breast cancer genes
having more than one drink of alcohol per day
being overweight after menopause or gaining weight as an adult
taking birth control pills for 5 years or longer
never having children [click to continue…]
