British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology recently published a study that shows positive effects of painkiller such as acetaminophen on ovarian cancer. Study involved acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol and several other painkillers and demonstrated that the positive effect may be as high as 30 percent compared to those who use acetaminophen or Tylenol rarely or not at all.
This does not mean you should start taking acetaminophen to prevent ovarian cancer. The possible link between acetaminophen use and reduced ovarian cancer risk is not yet so solid as to recommend Tylenol as a proper prevention or cure for ovarian cancer occurance.
About Ovarian Cancer
Ovarian cancer is one of the most fatal gynecological cancer. Doctors don’t have a good screening method to detect the disease in its early stages.
The American Cancer Society reports that ovarian cancer in the U.S. is one of the most prevalent cancer in women. It is more prevalent in Older patients aged 55 or older. Ovarian cancer is also slightly more common in white women than in black. Statistics show that there is 1 in 67 lifetime risk of a woman getting ovarian cancer
Bonovas and colleagues found that, regardless of age, women who regularly used acetaminophen were 30% less likely to have ovarian cancer, compared with those who didn’t use acetaminophen.
Irregular acetaminophen is not of as much value since irregular use didn’t show the same pattern. However frequency of acetaminophen usage was not standard across all studies. One study’s standard was acetaminophen use more than once daily for at least a year, while another considered women who took acetaminophen at least five days per month as regular users
Because of this it is too early to draw firm conclusions and consider this as strong scientific evidence of effects of Tylenol on curing ovarian cancer.
There are also other side effects of Acetaminophen such as liver damage because of acetaminophen overdose that need to be weighed against the potential benefits.