Is a surefire cancer-preventing pill already hanging out in your medicine cabinet? You might think so, if you read recent headlines: An acetaminophen a day will keep prostate cancer away, they say.
But stop for a second before you start a new Tylenol habit. Not only does acetaminophen have risks?like liver damage?the latest findings don?t actually prove its prostate-health benefits.
Study Finds Tylenol Users Have Lower Prostate Cancer Rates
For the new study in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, researchers at the American Cancer Society tracked close to 80,000 men. By the end of the 15-year study, those who?d popped a Tylenol daily for at least five years had about a 40 percent lower risk of prostate cancer.
The report isn?t the first to show a link between the painkiller and reduced cancer risk, but it is the largest, says Julio M. Pow-Sang, M.D., chair of the Department of Genitourinary Oncology at H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa.
The results make sense in light of current thinking about cancer?s causes, he notes. Doctors suspect chronic inflammation?a steady, low-grade activation of the body?s immune response?contributes to prostate cancer?s development and progression. Since acetaminophen reduces inflammation, it might logically cut cancer risk. (That?s reason foods that fight inflammation are believed to protect against cancer.)
Tylenol for Prostate Cancer? Hold Up
But while the findings provide more evidence for the inflammation hypothesis, they don?t prove that acetaminophen warded off cancer, Dr. Pow-Sang says.
In fact, the study wasn?t even designed to look at cause and effect. It was observational, meaning that researchers asked men whether they took Tylenol, watched to see if they got prostate cancer, and then used statistical calculations to determine the difference in risk.
To prove that acetaminophen cuts cancer risk would take ?a very sophisticated study,? Dr. Pow-Sang says. Researchers would have to assign some men to take acetaminophen and others not to, and then track which men developed cancer.
Until a study like that shows Tylenol?s benefits, men should ?absolutely not? start taking it regularly to protect their prostates, says Matthew Shuford, M.D., a urologist at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. ?The literature is littered with initial studies that a particular vitamin or medicine looks promising, then later turns out not to actually have any effect,? he says.
Take selenium and vitamin E. Observational studies showed these nutrients might reduce prostate cancer risk. However, a large government trial was stopped mid-study in 2004 when the supplements actually seemed to increase cancer risk.
What?s more, though it?s OTC and commonly used, Tylenol has side effects. Earlier this year, the FDA required manufacturers to change doses and packaging in an effort to reduce cases of severe liver injury associated with the drug. It can even kill you at high doses, Dr. Shuford says. Because there is acetaminophen in so many other products, including cold medicine and prescription pain meds like Vicodin and Percocet, you might exceed the daily maximum of 4,000 milligrams without even realizing it.
Protect Your Prostate Now
The hunt for a magic cancer-preventing pill continues: Drugs known as 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (Proscar or Avodart), which treat enlarged prostate, are also prime candidates. But like Tylenol, more studies are needed before they can be widely recommended, says Dr. Pow-Sang.
In the meantime, ?A heart-healthy lifestyle seems to offer the most benefit against prostate cancer?more than any specific medicine, vitamin, or supplement,? Dr. Shuford says. Start with these 6 Ways to Reduce Your Prostate Cancer Risk.
?Cindy Kuzma
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