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Aspirin, ibuprofen effective in protecting against breast cancer

Regular use of ibuprofen and aspirin inhibits the formation and growth of breast cancer, according to data published in the Proceedings for the 94th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). The data, taken from the National Cancer Institute?s (NCI) Women?s Health Initiative (WHI) Observational Study, concluded that weekly doses of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) had a significant effect in reducing the risk of breast cancer.
?These results suggest that even women at high risk for breast cancer may be protected by taking NSAIDs,? explains Randall Harris, M.D., Ph.D., lead investigator of the study, professor of the division of epidemiology and biometrics at the Ohio State University. ?However, before usage guidelines for NSAIDs can be implemented, additional studies are needed.?

Gene mutations in breast tissue may make cancer detection more difficult

Until now, researchers thought that breast cancer nearly always began when cells in the epithelium went haywire. But new research suggests that genetic mutations can ? and do ? occur initially in a deeper layer of breast tissue, called the stroma. This presents a serious concern for physicians, who believed that breast tumors spread from epithelial tissue. “Genetic alterations in carcinomas, including breast cancers, have always been attributed to epithelial cells,” said Charis Eng, Klotz professor and director of the Clinical Cancer Genetics Program at Ohio State University. She co-authored a new study that looks at genetic mutations in breast tissue.