Daily use of aspirin reduces the likelihood of ovarian cancer in women. This is the conclusion made by the staff of the National Cancer Institute in U.S. after the research with participation of20 thousand women, among them 8 thousand with ovarian cancer. They tried to determine how the use of aspirin, other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and acetaminophen (Tylenol) affected the risk of ovarian cancer.

About 18 percent of the women used aspirin regularly, 24 percent used non-aspirin NSAIDs (which include drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen/Aleve) and 16 percent used acetaminophen. Those who used aspirin daily had a 20 percent lower risk of ovarian cancer than those who used aspirin less than once a week.

The scientists found, that the risk of ovarian cancer was 10 percent lower in women who used non-aspirin NSAIDs at least once a week, compared to those who used them less often, according to the study, which was published Feb. 6 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, said Newsmax Health.

"Our study suggests that aspirin regimens, proven to protect against heart attack, may reduce the risk of ovarian cancer as well," Britton Trabert, of the National Cancer Institute's division of cancer epidemiology, said in a U.S. National Institutes of Health news release.

"However our results should not influence current clinical practice," Trabert said. "Additional studies are needed to explore the delicate balance of risk and benefit for this potential chemopreventive agent, as well as studies to identify how aspirin may reduce ovarian cancer risk."

Regular aspirin use can cause side effects such as bleeding in the digestive tract or hemorrhagic bleeding stroke, the study authors said.