Long-term treatment with low-dose aspirin seems to reduce the risk of breast cancer in women with diabetes, according to Taiwanese research published in the Journal of Women’s Health.

Researchers retrospectively analysed 148,739 women with diabetes aged, on average, 63.3 years. Of these, 27,378 were taking low-dose aspirin (75-165mg daily). Overall, using aspirin reduced the risk of breast cancer by 18 per cent after allowing for age and co-morbidities.

Taking a cumulative dose of aspirin exceeding 88,900mg over a mean of 8.5 years reduced the risk of breast cancer by 47 per cent compared to non-users. Low (<8,600mg) and medium (8,600-88,900mg) cumulative doses of aspirin did not significantly reduce breast cancer risk. The incidence of breast cancer seemed to decline after one year of aspirin use.

Additional studies need to confirm these findings, say the authors.

^{DOI:10.1089/jwh.2016.6040}