The drugs-also known as NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)-increase the risk of kidney cancer by 51 per cent, and the risk increases the longer you take them. The risk drops to 32 per cent in those who have regularly taken the painkillers for less than four years.
Aspirin is the only NSAID that doesn’t cause renal cancer, say researchers from Harvard Medical School.
The risk was discovered when researchers carried out a long-term (16 and 20 years) health profile of 77,525 women and 49,403 men, respectively.
Many common analgesics are available as over-the-counter treatments without a prescription; this means that people need to understand the cancer risk associated with these drugs before they start taking them, say the researchers (Arch Intern Med, 2011; 171: 1487-93).
WDDTY 22 no 7, October 2011
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