Ibuprofen: an Everyday Drug Might Offer Protection Against Cancer

Posted3 months agoActive3 months ago

OutOfHere

23 points

16 comments

medicalxpress.comResearchstory

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Cancer PreventionIbuprofenHealth Risks

Key topics

Cancer Prevention

Ibuprofen

Health Risks

A story about ibuprofen potentially offering protection against cancer sparks discussion on its potential benefits and risks, including gastrointestinal side effects and the complexity of long-term health outcomes.

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01Story posted
Oct 20, 2025 at 8:36 AM EDT
3 months ago
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02First comment
Oct 20, 2025 at 8:38 AM EDT
1m after posting
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03Peak activity
4 comments in 4-5h
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04Latest activity
Oct 20, 2025 at 8:29 PM EDT
3 months ago
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Discussion (16 comments)

Showing 13 comments of 16

OutOfHereAuthor

3 months ago

2 replies

Be careful, even for prevention, because even a single use of ibuprofen can very easily leave one with a gastrointestinal ulcer, even if taken with food or on a full stomach. Taking omeprazole at +0 hours and again at +12 hours lowers this risk, although I wonder if vonoprazan would be better suited. If care is not taken, healing the ulcer can take several weeks via glutamine, vitamin C, fresh cabbage juice, collagen hydrolysate, etc. Also, it doesn't really seem to make sense to take ibuprofen if one isn't struggling with inflammatory pain.

sidewndr46

3 months ago

2 replies

Ibuprofen is pretty good at reducing inflammation, but it primarily works by reducing COX-1 & COX-2. Those do lots of things but also play a role in muscle development. My personal observation is Ibuprofen seems to inhibit muscle growth for me.

OutOfHereAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

Even vitamin C supplements inhibit muscle growth. You might make up for it a bit with whey hydrolysate.

nikolay

3 months ago

All antioxidants counter the benefits of exercise.

burnt-resistor

3 months ago

There's also naproxen with similar GI challenges to mitigate, like perhaps with omeprazole but with a list of conditions and caveats.

nikolay

3 months ago

1 reply

There's always a risk with any intervention. The vast majority of people don't get ulcers from ibuprofen, aspirin, etc. To suggest taking it with omeprazole is crazy! DGL and vitamin C alongside aspirin almost fully eliminates the risk of stomach bleeding, so, I assume the same applies to ibuprofen.

OutOfHereAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

If one doesn't get an ulcer from ibuprofen, then obviously there is no reason to take it with omeprazole, etc. One can take it for decades and not get them, then suddenly something changes and one start getting them. That's when the co-protection starts to be needed. There is nothing crazy about it.

As for low-dose aspirin, its safety is dose, formulation, and frequency dependent. There is a reason why many doctors don't suggest its casual use anymore. Low-dose aspirin often also leads to bruising, sometimes very large black bruising, in random regions of the body.

Vitamin C alone won't eliminate the risk. As for the combo of DGL with vitamin C, I will have to try it.

nikolay

3 months ago

1 reply

The study is not about combining vitamin C with DGL, but that could be an even better option. Anyway, unlike antacids or PPIs which neutralize or block acid, DGL is considered a "cytoprotective" agent—meaning it directly protects the stomach cells.

OutOfHereAuthor

3 months ago

In those vulnerable, protection is needed continuously for 24-48 hours when taking ibuprofen, even while sleeping.

I don't know how long DGL works for, or how often it has to be dosed. I suppose it could be useful more generally as a baseline supplement, just like vitamin C.

clickety_clack

3 months ago

1 reply

Is it possible that people who take so many painkillers succumb to something else before they get a chance to develop the cancer?

OutOfHereAuthor

3 months ago

1 reply

No, because if they had died, they would not have been counted in the study.

Heart disease is in general one of the risks.

clickety_clack

3 months ago

1 reply

That’s exactly my point. They’d be removed from the study before they got the cancer.

OutOfHereAuthor

3 months ago

That doesn't seem to truthfully represent the situation. Some people without cancer do rely on painkillers more than they should, but it is during cancer that many people start taking a lot of painkillers.

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ID: 45643201Type: storyLast synced: 11/20/2025, 1:45:02 PM

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