For some time, researchers have speculated whether regular use of the painkillers ibuprofen and naproxen (and even aspirin) — the so called over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (OTC NSAIDs) — might reduce the incidence of breast cancer.

Numerous individual clinical trials, however, that each looked separately for a connection between breast cancer incidence and such drugs as Advil®, Motrin®, and Aleve®, did not settle this question.

Now scientists have combined, analyzed, and reviewed the data from 38 of these individual clinical trials, which involved a total of nearly 3 million female participants. The findings of this "meta-analysis" appear in the October 7, 2008, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and they're intriguing to say the least.

Data from this meta-analysis show that women who regularly used any NSAID had a 12 percent reduction in their relative breast cancer risk compared to those who did not take OTC NSAIDs.

And there's more. A separate analysis of just those studies that looked at women who took aspirin alone revealed a 13 percent reduction in their relative breast cancer risk. A similar analysis of women who just took ibuprofen showed a 21 percent reduction in their relative risk.

These data tell us that anti-inflammatory drugs appear to be another potential way to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.

One caveat, though, before you start taking those OTC NSAIDs: First talk with your doctor because, although you'd only be taking one dose a day, NSAIDs can be tough on the stomach lining, and you wouldn't want to do yourself more harm than good!