Pain Pills May Protect Against Brain Tumors

Treatment with aspirin, Advil (ibuprofen) and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may protect against a highly lethal type of brain tumor called glioblastoma multiforme, new research suggests. As reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology, Dr. Niccole R. Sivak-Sears of Ohio State University in Columbus, and colleagues note that NSAIDs appear to reduce the risk of colon cancer. Because colon cancers and certain brain tumors arise from similar cell origins, they suggest that these two types of tumors may "perhaps share common preventive mechanisms as well."