Over-the-counter painkillers may affect PSA
September 8, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
If you are male and you take over-the-counter pain medications, like aspirin or ibuprofen, your prostate specific antigen (PSA) may be lower than men who don’t take them. PSA is protein secreted by the prostate gland and is normal in low levels. However, in men who have prostate cancer, the PSA levels are usually higher.
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Tags: chronic pain blog, pain blog, prostate cancer, prostate specific antigen, PSA, PSA levels, nonsteroidal anti inflammatories, tylenol, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, aspirinl, painkillers
Over-the-counter painkillers may affect PSA
September 8, 2008 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
If you are male and you take over-the-counter pain medications, like aspirin or ibuprofen, your prostate specific antigen (PSA) may be lower than men who don’t take them. PSA is protein secreted by the prostate gland and is normal in low levels. However, in men who have prostate cancer, the PSA levels are usually higher.
According to a study published in the online version of the journal, Cancer, researchers examined the records of 1319 men, who were over the age of 40 and who took part in the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a health census conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. What the researchers found was that men who used aspirin and ibuprofen (called NSAIDs, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) regularly had PSA levels about 10% lower compared with men who did not take NSAIDs regularly. The researchers noticed a similar trend with acetaminophen (Tylenol), but there weren’t enough men in the group who took acetaminophen for the there to be a definite conclusion.
The authors of the study aren’t sure what to make of this finding, but feel that definitely needs following up and more research. You can read more about it in this press release: Common painkillers lower levels of prostate cancer biomarker.
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Tags: chronic pain blog, pain blog, prostate cancer, prostate specific antigen, PSA, PSA levels, nonsteroidal anti inflammatories, tylenol, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, aspirinl, painkillers
