Aspirin use is associated with lower PSA levels in men who have never smoked, data suggest.
Researchers at the University of Arizona in Tucson analyzed data from 140 men with prostate cancer enrolled in a Phase 2 clinical trial of selenium to prevent prostate cancer progression. The average follow-up was 3.2 years. Among men who never smoked, baseline PSA levels were significantly lower in aspirin users compared with nonusers (4.19 vs. 8.24 ng/mL), but not in men who had ever smoked (5.52 and 7.3 ng/mL for aspirin users and nonusers, respectively), the investigators reported in The Prostate (published online ahead of print).
Use of other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and statins were not associated with baseline PSA levels.
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“These findings support an effect of aspirin use on PSA, particularly among never smokers,” the authors concluded. They noted, however, that the results do not suggest a protective effect with respect to prostate cancer and support previous findings that aspirin use may mask accurate measurement of PSA levels, warranting consideration of washout procedures prior to testing.
