Jean Tang, MD, Ph.D., of Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto California, and colleagues reported the results of a study that shows daily aspirin use reduces a person’s chances of getting skin cancer from sun exposure by as much as 21 percent in the March 11, 2013, issue of CANCER, an on line a peer reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.
The reason that daily aspirin use reduces skin cancer risk is inflammation reduction. Too much sun exposure causes inflammation and aspirin reduces the inflammation that can be the start of skin cancer.
The simple solution for everyone going on a spring break vacation is to take a bottle of baby aspirin with them and take a daily aspirin. That is not all there is to preventing skin cancer. You need to take aspirin daily and wear a sun block that blocks UV (ultraviolet) A and B.
The research followed 59,806 Caucasian women for 12 years. Women who used aspirin had a 21 percent lower risk of melanoma (skin cancer) relative to women who did not take aspirin. Every year of routine aspirin use was associated with an 11 percent lower risk of melanoma.
Aspirin is unique in reducing inflammation. Most other pain medications do not reduce inflammation and therefore cannot help prevent skin cancer.
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