New research published in the online version of the journal
cancer finds that common painkillers, such as aspirin, may help
prevent some forms of skin cancer. It has been shown in previous
studies that taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which
include aspirin, naproxen and ibuprofen,can decrease your
likelihood of developing some types of cancer. But now doctors
out of Denmark have found these medications might decrease the
risk of developing the three major types of skin cancer,
including the most serious, malignant melanoma. Researchers
looked at records of nearly 200,000 people from northern
Denmark, over a 10 year period, noting the types of drugs they
took. They found people who took more than two different kinds
of painkillers had a 13 percent decreased risk for developing
melanoma than those who filled two or less prescriptions for
these medications. The odds were even better if the drugs were
taken frequently for seven or more years. Study authors say more
research is needed to better underst