You know the basics on sun protection: Don’t leave the house without sunscreen, never set foot inside a tanning bed, and always wear a wide-brimmed hat to the beach. But is there anything else you can do to stave off those potentially damaging rays? Indeed, new research suggests a novel weapon in the fight against skin cancer—one that’s probably already in your medicine cabinet. In a study published in the journal Cancer, researchers found that women who took aspirin on a regular basis experienced fewer diagnoses of melanoma, the most serious type of skin cancer. After tracking the aspirin use of nearly 60,000 post-menopausal participants for 12 years, these experts concluded that those who popped the pain reliever were 21% less likely to develop skin cancer than those who didn’t. And the protective effect only grew over time: Women who took aspirin regularly for more than five years saw a 30% reduction in skin cancer risk. “Aspirin works by reducing inflammation, which in turn may work to reduce the risk of melanoma,” says study author Jean Tang, MD, PhD, of the Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto. Other NSAIDs didn’t show the same protective effect; while they also ease pain by decreasing inflammation, each medication relies on slightly different properties that affect different inflammatory pathways in the body. And skin cancer isn’t the only ailment against which aspirin seems to protect. Those same anti-inflammatory properties may also slash gastric, colon, and breast cancer risks, and the relationship between aspirin and a reduced risk of heart attack is widely known. Unfortunately, a regular aspirin regimen can come with major side effects, most notably stomach bleeding. Plus, other recent research suggests that the pills might also damage hearing and vision. So is aspirin worth the gamble when it comes to saving your skin? For most of us, probably not. “Because of the side effects, it would be foolish to recommend aspirin for everyone," Dr. Tang says. “But if you’ve had melanoma or non-melanoma skin cancer, an aspirin regimen is something to discuss with your dermatologist and doctor.” Aside from sunscreen, you can protect your skin by checking it for regularities on an ongoing basis, and getting screened by a dermatologist every two years (or annually, if you have a family history of skin cancer), Dr. Tang says. Also eat an antioxidant-rich diet that includes plenty of fruits and vegetables, red wine, and peanuts (with the skin on), which research suggests may offer additional skin cancer protection. More from Prevention: Is A Daily Aspirin Worth It? Questions? Comments? Contact Prevention’s News Team.
