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Aspirin May Help Treat Rare Skin Cancer - Research
Aug 13, 2003

LONDON (Reuters) - Aspirin might help treat a rare form of cancer that causes huge mushroom-shaped tumors to grow out of the body's hair follicles and sweat glands, scientists said Wednesday.

Writing in the medical journal Nature, the scientists said aspirin's anti-inflammatory properties could help combat cylindromatosis, an inherited form of skin cancer also known as turban tumor syndrome.

People who have the syndrome suffer from inflamed skin tissue which releases a host of molecules that may help keep cancer cells alive, they said. Aspirin reduces the inflammation and therefore might help to starve the cancer cells.

The research is contained in three studies carried out independently in the Netherlands, Greece and Israel. All three are published in Nature.

George Mosialos, head of the Greek team, said the research might also prove useful for the treatment of other types of cancer.

"It could be used for certain types of leukemia and lymphomas." Mosialos told Reuters.

Cylindromatosis produces distinctive mushroom-shaped tumors which grow out of the scalp and other hairy parts of the body.

While the tumors are benign, they can cause terrible disfigurement and, if untreated, can turn into life-threatening malignant cancers.

"It's important that we put the theory to test in patients as soon as we can," Cancer Research UK's Professor Alan Ashworth said in a statement.

"In the case of turban tumor syndrome, we think anti-inflammatory drugs could be rubbed into tumors in gel form in order to shrink them," he said.

"We know inflammation can play a role in the development of a number of other cancers too, so it could be that aspirin will find a range of uses as a cancer treatment."

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