NSAIDs may benefit colorectal cancer
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Researchers say that survival of sufferers of colorectal cancer is improved with the use of NSAIDs.
Colorectal cancer presents serious challenges for effective treatment. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center reports that survival for certain patients suffering from colorectal cancer is improved with NSAIDs.
According to new research, there is approximately a 25 percent decrease in mortality from all causes among long-term colorectal cancer survivors with the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or what are called NSAIDs. It has been further suggested by this study that NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, aspirin and naproxen have a particularly positive effect when they are taken after diagnosis by colorectal cancer patients who do not have a tumor mutation in the KRAS gene or KRAS wild-type tumors.
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Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-associated deaths in the United States. Approximately 70 percent of patients with colorectal cancer in this study have tumors which do not have mutations in the KRAS gene. There is a survival benefit with NSAIDs of 40 percent in this group.
Xinwei Hua, who is the study’s first author and an epidemiologist at Fred Hutchinson, says it is now better understood how the use of NSAIDs may benefit a subset of patients who are diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Hua has encouraged the development of a better understanding of what the optimal timing, dose and duration of NSAID use should be for patients suffering from KRAS wild-type tumors.
It has been reported by Mayo Clinic there is a proven benefit of NSAIDs for colorectal cancer prevention. Researchers have observed that these drugs often have a protective effect for cancer. However, it has been emphasized that each individual person is different and so their care will be individualized. Overall NSAIDs offer promise in the fight against colorectal cancer.
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