Aspirin and other nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs) have been shown experimentally to inhibit
prostaglandin synthesis and tumor growth in a wide variety
of systems.' NSAIDs such as aspirin, indomethacin,
piroxicam, and sulindac inhibit chemically induced
esophageal cancers.' Previous studies have examined
the relation of aspirin use to colon cancer, with discrepant
finding^.^-^ Although no previous epidemiologic
study has examined the relation of aspirin use to the
development of esophageal carcinoma, a previous
study of more than 600,000 adults in the United States
followed for 6 years found that aspirin use was associated
with a reduced risk of death from these tumors.'
The goal of the present study was to examine the relation
of aspirin use to development of esophageal cancer
in another cohort of U.S. residents, which had been followed
12-16 years.