Association between Regular Aspirin Use and Circulating Markers of Inflammation: A Study within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.

backgroundRegular aspirin use may decrease cancer risk by reducing chronic inflammation. However, associations between aspirin use and circulating markers of inflammation have not been well studied.

methodsSerum levels of 78 inflammatory markers were measured in 1,819 55- to 74-year-old men and women in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial. Data were combined from three completed case-control studies and reweighted to the PLCO screening arm. Self-reported aspirin and ibuprofen use (number of tablets taken per day/week/month) over the previous 12 months was collected at baseline. Associations between (i) nonregular (<4 tablets/month), (ii) low (1-4 tablets/week), (iii) moderate (1 tablet/day), or (iv) high (2+ tablets/day) regular aspirin or ibuprofen use and marker levels were assessed with weighted logistic regression.

resultsAspirin use was nominally associated with (Ptrend across categories ≤ 0.05) decreased levels of chemokine C-C motif ligand 15 [CCL15; OR, 0.5; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 0.3-0.8; moderate versus nonregular use]; soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (sVEGFR2; OR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.4-1.0); soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (sTNFR1; OR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.4-0.9) and increased levels of CCL13 (OR, 1.3; 95% CI, 0.8-2.1); CCL17 (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.7-1.9) and interleukin 4 (IL4; OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 0.9-2.8). Trends were not statistically significant following correction for multiple comparisons. Likewise, no statistically significant associations were observed between ibuprofen use and marker levels.

conclusionsNo significant associations were observed between regular aspirin use and the inflammatory markers assessed. IMPACT: Additional studies are needed to better understand the relationship between aspirin use, chronic inflammation, and cancer risk.