Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been associated with improved survival in some cancers, but evidence for ovarian cancer is limited.

Pooling individual-level data from 12 Ovarian Cancer Association Consortium studies, we evaluated the association between self-reported, pre-diagnosis use of common analgesics and overall/progression-free/disease-specific survival among 7694 women with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (4273 deaths).

Regular analgesic use (at least once per week) was not associated with overall survival (pooled hazard ratios, pHRs (95% confidence intervals): aspirin 0.96 (0.88-1.04); non-aspirin NSAIDs 0.97 (0.89-1.05); acetaminophen 1.01 (0.93-1.10)), nor with progression-free/disease-specific survival. There was however a survival advantage for users of any NSAIDs in studies clearly defining non-use as less than once per week (pHR=0.89 (0.82-0.98)).

Although this study did not show a clear association between analgesic use and ovarian cancer survival, further investigation with clearer definitions of use and information about post-diagnosis use is warranted.British Journal of Cancer advance online publication, 28 March 2017; doi:10.1038/bjc.2017.68 www.bjcancer.com.