Some NSAIDs May Increase Risk Of Kidney Cancer

Bloomberg News (9/13, Cortez) reports a study published in Archives of Internal Medicine showing that "People who regularly used ibuprofen, sold by Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) as Motrin and Pfizer Inc. (PFE) as Advil, or naproxen, sold by Bayer AG (BAYN) as Aleve, were 51 percent more likely to develop kidney cancer than those who didn't rely on the pills." There was no "increased risk from aspirin or acetaminophen, the main ingredient in J&J's Tylenol."

MedPage Today (9/13, Walsh) reports that investigators "analyzed data from 77,525 women in the Nurses' Health Study and from 49,403 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Participants completed questionnaires every two years, detailing their use of various types of analgesics." One "possible mechanism through which NSAIDs could cause kidney disease is the inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis with resulting papillary and tubular injury, and ultimately damage to DNA." The study's limitations "included the possibility of confounding by indication, with patients taking analgesics for cancer symptoms before the carcinoma diagnosis was made, and a lack of information about doses used."

HealthDay (9/13, Reinberg) reports that, "the risk was 19 percent lower if these drugs were used for less than four years. For those who used non-aspirin NSAIDs regularly for four to 10 years the risk for renal cell cancer increased 36 percent and went up almost three times for those who used these drugs regularly for 10 years or more." Experts note that kidney cancer is uncommon so the risk is small for average users, and also that "two important causes of kidney cancer are obesity and smoking, so maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking will greatly reduce risk."

Reuters (9/13, Pittman) reports that the National Cancer Institute's statistics say that in 2011, there will be 13,000 deaths from kidney cancer in the US, and 61,000 diagnoses. The story also received coverage in Medscape (9/13, Barclay), and WebMD (9/13, McMillen).