Common painkillers lower levels of prostate cancer...(may reduce a man's risk of getting prost...),Health

Singer said that a man's PSA level can be elevated for reasons unrelated to cancer. Sometimes, for instance, while inflammation is part of a cancer process, sometimes it is not, and so it's possible that a lowered PSA reflects reduced inflammation without affecting a man's risk of prostate cancer. Another possibility is that a PSA level lowered by NSAIDs might artificially mask a man's risk of getting prostate cancer: The medications might lower the PSA, but a man's risk might stay precisely the same.

"More than anything, these findings underscore the importance for doctors to know what medications their patients are on," said Singer, who is chief Urology resident at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "For instance, there are medications commonly used to treat an enlarged prostate that can result in a decreased PSA, and most physicians know that. Doctors should also be asking about patients' use of NSAIDs such as aspirin and ibuprofen.

"The data is very interesting, but it will take more research to determine how to interpret the findings. In the meantime, this shouldn't change men's behavior or prompt them to take these medications to try to prevent prostate cancer."

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