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Study Links Analgesics, Acetaminophen Use With Increased Risk for Kidney Cancer

The use of acetaminophen, nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and high-dose analgesics offers greater risk for developing a type of kidney cancer called renal cell carcinoma, a new study shows.


Dr. Eunyoung Cho, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and colleagues conducted a preliminary meta-analysis of 18 studies from six countries to examine analgesics use and its relation to the risk for renal cell carcinoma.


Researchers say this meta-analysis was the largest analysis of analgesics and risk for renal cell carcinoma.

“Our study is the first few of those studies raising the possibility that these commonly used painkillers may elevate the risk for certain types of cancer,” Cho said in a news release.


Cho and colleagues conducted a Medline database search for case-control or cohort studies on acetaminophen, aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), published between 1966 and July 1, 2011. They found 12 studies examining risk for acetaminophen, 12 for aspirin and five for NSAIDs.


Results of the study showed that any use of acetaminophen was associated with a 33 percent increased risk for renal cell carcinoma, and use of other NSAIDs was linked with a 26 percent increased risk. No significantly increased risk for renal cell carcinoma was found with the use of aspirin.


The meta-analysis revealed similar trends for those who use high-dose analgesics. Researchers found no significant difference in associations based on study design, type of controls in case-control studies, study outcome or gender.

Researchers expected the positive association with non-aspirin NSAIDs, based on two recently published studies that were included in this meta-analysis. But the link to acetaminophen was unexpected, the study authors note, as it was not included in those recent studies. 


Cho and colleagues then discovered several small studies that suggested a positive link between acetaminophen use and renal cell carcinoma. By including these studies in their meta-analysis, researchers were able to gain more statistically significant summary results, Cho said.

For more on medical safety issues, see the library of articles by Daytona Beach medical malpractice attorney.

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