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Aspirin use and the risk of prostate cancer: a meta-analysis of 24 epidemiologic studies

  • Urology - Original Paper
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Abstract

Purpose

Several epidemiologic studies were performed to clarify the protective effect of regular aspirin use on prostate cancer risk; however, the results remain controversial. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to assess the association between regular aspirin use and risk of prostate cancer.

Methods

Electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library were searched between January 1966 and April 2013 to identify eligible studies. Pooled relative ratios (RRs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were computed to assess the influence of aspirin use on prostate cancer risk. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results

A total of 24 observational studies including 14 case–control studies and 10 cohort studies were eligible for this meta-analysis. Regular aspirin use was associated with reduction in overall and advanced prostate cancer risk (pooled RR 0.86, 95 % CI 0.81–0.92; pooled RR 0.83, 95 % CI 0.75–0.91, respectively). When we restricted our analyses to studies with long-time regular aspirin use (equal or more than 4 years), reverse association became stronger (pooled RR 0.82, 95 % CI 0.72–0.93; pooled RR 0.70, 95 % CI 0.55–0.90, respectively).

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that regular, especially long-time regular aspirin use may reduce the risk of overall and advanced prostate cancer. Considering the limitation of included studies, further well-designed large-scaled cohort studies and RCTs are required to draw more definitive conclusions.

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Acknowledgments

Tian-bao Huang was responsible for the initial plan, data collection and statistical analysis and for conducting the study. Tian-bao Huang, Yang Yan, Zhui-feng Guo contributed to data collection, data extraction, data interpretation and manuscript drafting. Huan Liu, Xiao-long Zhang, Jiang Geng and Xu-dong Yao contributed to data interpretation and study design. Jun-hua Zheng was the guarantor for this paper and has full responsibility for this study.

Conflict of interest

None.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University, 301 Yanchang Road, Shanghai, 200072, China

    Tian-bao Huang, Yang Yan, Zhui-feng Guo, Xiao-long Zhang, Huan Liu, Jiang Geng, Xu-dong Yao & Jun-hua Zheng

  2. Department of First Clinical Medical College, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China

    Tian-bao Huang, Xiao-long Zhang, Huan Liu, Jiang Geng & Jun-hua Zheng

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  1. Tian-bao Huang
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  2. Yang Yan
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Correspondence to Jun-hua Zheng.

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Tian-bao Huang and Yang Yan have contributed equally to this work.

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11255_2014_703_MOESM1_ESM.tif

Forest plot and meta-analysis of the association between daily aspirin use and overall/advanced prostate cancer risk (TIFF 1590 kb).

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Huang, Tb., Yan, Y., Guo, Zf. et al. Aspirin use and the risk of prostate cancer: a meta-analysis of 24 epidemiologic studies. Int Urol Nephrol 46, 1715–1728 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11255-014-0703-4

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