For those diagnosed with colorectal cancer, regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, is tied to longer survival, a new observational study shows. But that potentially protective link only holds up for patients with the most common genetic subtype of tumor.

About 70 percent of colorectal cancer patients have a normal copy of a gene known as KRAS in their tumors. The other 30 percent carry mutations in that gene. And it’s in this larger group — those without KRAS mutations in their cancer — that NSAID use is linked to longer survival, said Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center epidemiologist Dr. Polly Newcomb, senior author on the study published Thursday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

“Everybody wants to consider what lifestyle options might be available to them to improve their longevity after diagnosis,” she said. “This study gives us insight into how great the benefits of NSAID use might be.”

There is an ongoing, randomized clinical trial looking at whether treatment with a very strong NSAID known as Celecoxib can improve survival in those with stage 3 colorectal cancer after primary treatment. That study will provide a more definitive answer — but to a much narrower question, Newcomb said.

Read the source article at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center