The use of these painkillers has recently been linked to a lower risk of women developing breast cancer. The study shows that aspirin accounts for 13 percent less breast cancer cases among women using the drug, while ibuprofen decreases the risk of cancer developing by more than 21 percent. This means that these antibiotics could be very important in future treatment options for this type of cancer.
 

However, the Canadian scientists who conducted this study caution women not to start using these drugs as of yet, because they have strong side-effects, which can cause more problems than they help to cure. "The results of this study just show that women who are taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for other reasons probably have a lower risk of breast cancer," said Bahi Takkouche, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, co-author of the study.
 

Tough the data used in this research came from 38 other studies, on 2.8 million women in several countries, the authors agree that this particular type of study is not representative to the effects NSAIDs have over cancerous cells. A connection between these drugs and the spread of cancer seems to exist however, considering that, in medical tests, NSAIDs have been proven to inhibit the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX), which scientists believe plays a crucial role in producing inflammatory mediators that favor the development of mutant cells.
 

Mahyar Etminan, Pharm.D., at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver says that aspirin and ibuprofen may be most effective when fighting certain types of breast cancer cells, such as those created by mutations of the HER2 gene. She also informed the public that a larger, more complex study is currently in progress, in an attempt to determine if women with high breast cancer risk can indeed avoid the disease by using some types of antibiotics. These clinical trials should determine if common, over-the-counter drugs can someday be used for breast cancer prevention.