Aspirin use and head and neck cancer survival and recurrence

Xinman Zhang; Omar S Ilyas; Kayla R Getz; Laura S Rozek; Jeremy M G Taylor; Steven B Chinn; Gregory T Wolf; Alison M Mondul

doi:10.1007/s10552-023-01815-7

Aspirin use and head and neck cancer survival and recurrence

Cancer Causes Control. 2024 Apr;35(4):605-609. doi: 10.1007/s10552-023-01815-7. Epub 2023 Nov 17.

Authors

Xinman Zhang¹, Omar S Ilyas¹, Kayla R Getz², Laura S Rozek³, Jeremy M G Taylor⁴, Steven B Chinn⁵, Gregory T Wolf⁵, Alison M Mondul⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
² Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
³ School of Medicine, Department of Oncology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
⁴ Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁵ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Michigan, USA.
⁶ Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. amondul@umich.edu.

PMID: 37975972
DOI: 10.1007/s10552-023-01815-7

Abstract

Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) has low 5-year survival, and evidence-based recommendations for tertiary prevention are lacking. Aspirin improves outcomes for cancers at other sites, but its role in HNC tertiary prevention remains understudied.

Methods: HNC patients were recruited in the University of Michigan Head and Neck Cancer Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) from 2003 to 2014. Aspirin data were collected through medical record review; outcomes (overall mortality, HNC-specific mortality, and recurrence) were collected through medical record review, Social Security Death Index, or LexisNexis. Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the associations between aspirin use at diagnosis (yes/no) and HNC outcomes.

Results: We observed no statistically significant associations between aspirin and cancer outcome in our HNC patient cohort (n = 1161) (HNC-specific mortality: HR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.68-1.21; recurrence: HR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.73-1.19). In analyses stratified by anatomic site, HPV status, and disease stage, we observed no association in any strata examined with the possible exception of a lower risk of recurrence in oropharynx patients (HR = 0.60, 95% CI 0.35-1.04).

Conclusions: Our findings do not support a protective association between aspirin use and cancer-specific death or recurrence in HNC patients, with the possible exception of a lower risk of recurrence in oropharynx patients.

Keywords: Aspirin; Head and neck cancer; Recurrence; Survival.

MeSH terms

Aspirin* / therapeutic use
Head and Neck Neoplasms* / drug therapy
Humans
Proportional Hazards Models

Substances

Aspirin