Use of low-dose aspirin and non-aspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and risk of glioma: a case–control study

• Published in: British journal of cancer Vol. 108; no. 5; pp. 1189 - 1194
• Main Authors: Gaist, D, García-Rodríguez, L A, Sørensen, H T, Hallas, J, Friis, S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 19.03.2013; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 631/67/1059/99; 692/699/67/1922; 692/700/478/174; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal - administration & dosage; Antiinflammatory agents; Aspirin - administration & dosage; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brain cancer; Brain Neoplasms - epidemiology; Cancer Research; Case-Control Studies; Denmark - epidemiology; Drug Resistance; Epidemiology; Female; Glioma - epidemiology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Molecular Medicine; Neurology; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Oncology; Risk Factors; Skin cancer; Time Factors; Tumors; Tumors of the nervous system. Phacomatoses; Young Adult; Denmark; Aarhus Denmark; epidemiology; aspirin; non-aspirin NSAIDs; glioma; risk; Prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase; Nervous system diseases; Enzyme; Low dose; Use; Enzyme inhibitor; Risk; Acetylsalicylic acid; Case control study; Epidemiology; Antiplatelet agent; Non steroidal antiinflammatory agent; Analgesic; Cancerology; Glioma; Central nervous system disease; Risk factor; Antipyretic; Tumor; Oxidoreductases; Salicylates; Public health
• ISSN: 0007-0920; 1532-1827
• DOI: 10.1038/bjc.2013.87

Background: Few studies have examined the association between use of aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and risk of glioma and the results have been equivocal. We therefore investigated the influence of NSAID use on glioma risk in a nationwide setting. Methods: We used national registries in Denmark to identify all patients aged 20–85 years with a first diagnosis of histologically verified glioma during 2000–2009. Each case was matched on birth year and sex to eight population controls using risk-set sampling. We used prescription data to assess NSAID use and classified exposure to low-dose aspirin or non-aspirin (NA) NSAIDs into ever use or long-term use, defined as continuous use for ⩾5 years. Conditional logistic regression was used to compute odds ratios (ORs), with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), for glioma associated with NSAID use, adjusted for potential confounders. Results: A total of 2688 glioma cases and 18 848 population controls were included in the study. Ever use of low-dose aspirin (OR=0.90; 95% CI: 0.77–1.04) or NA-NSAIDs (OR=1.05; 95% CI: 0.96–1.14) was not associated with glioma risk. Compared with never use, long-term use of low-dose aspirin or of NA-NSAIDs was associated with ORs of 0.80 (95% CI: 0.53–1.21) and 1.11 (0.57–2.17), respectively. We observed no clear patterns of risk in stratified analysis according to estimated doses of low-dose aspirin (⩽100 mg, 150 mg). Conclusion: We did not find any apparent association between aspirin or NA-NSAID use and risk of glioma, although our results may be consistent with a slight reduction in glioma risk with long-term use of low-dose aspirin.