Regular use of aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has been hypothesized to be associated with reduced risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), although previous results have been inconsistent. The current study investigated the effects of regular aspirin or acetaminophen use on non-Hodgkin lymphoma risk among 625 individuals with primary, incident NHL and 2512 age and sex matched hospital controls with non-neoplastic conditions who completed a comprehensive epidemiologic questionnaire. Results indicate that regular aspirin use may be associated with decreased NHL risk among men [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.65-1.04], but not among women (aOR 0.93, 95% CI, 0.71-1.23). In contrast, regular acetaminophen use was associated with elevated NHL risk among women (aOR 1.71, 95% CI, 1.18-2.50) but not among men (aOR 0.75, 95% CI, 0.48-1.17). Other studies have demonstrated that acetaminophen is associated with transient decreases in DNA repair, and lymphocytes may be particularly susceptible to DNA damage, suggesting a mechanism for the elevated NHL risk observed.
