Regular aspirin use and nasopharyngeal cancer risk : a case-control study in Italy

Regular aspirin use has been associated to decreased risk of several cancers, but evidence on nasopharyngeal carcinoma is scanty. We conducted a hospital-based case-control study in Italy, enrolling 198 Caucasian patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Controls were 592 cancer-free Caucasian patients admitted to the same catchment areas as cases; controls were frequency matched according to sex, age, and area of residence. Regular aspirin use was defined as taking at least one aspirin a week for at least 6 months. Three cases (1.5%) and 27 controls (4.5%) reported regular aspirin use (odds ratio=0.24; 95% CI: 0.07-0.87). The median duration of consumption was 15 months among cases and 60 months among controls. Although study findings should be considered with caution due to limited sample size, they provide further evidence on the protective effect of aspirin use in head and neck cancers.