Aspirin but not statins is inversely related to gastric cancer with a duration–risk effect: Results from the Stomach Cancer Pooling Project Consortium

Background Aspirin and statins have been suggested to have potential chemopreventive effects against gastric cancer (GC), although the results of previous studies have been inconsistent. This study therefore aimed to investigate the association between the use of aspirin and statins and GC. Methods A pooled analysis of seven case‐control studies within the Stomach Cancer Pooling Project, including 3220 cases and 9752 controls, was conducted. Two‐stage modeling analyses were used to estimate the association between aspirin and statin use and GC after adjusting for potential confounders. Results The pooled odds ratio (OR) of GC for aspirin users versus nonusers was 0.72 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.54–0.95). The protective effect of aspirin appeared stronger in individuals without a GC family history (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.37–0.95), albeit with borderline heterogeneity between those with and without a family history (p = .064). The OR of GC decreased with increasing duration of aspirin use, with an OR of 0.41 (95% CI, 0.18–0.95) for durations of ≥15 years. An inverse, nonsignificant association with the risk of GC was observed for the use of statins alone (OR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.52–1.18). Conclusions These findings suggest that aspirin use, particularly long‐term use, is associated with a reduced risk of GC, whereas a similar association was not observed with statins, possibly because of the low frequency of use. This study aimed to examine the association of access to primary care with mortality in excess of patients with the 10 most frequent cancers in France, while controlling for socioeconomic deprivation. Patients living in areas with less access to primary care had a greater mortality in excess for some very common cancer sites like breast (women), lung (men), liver (men and women), and colorectal cancer (men), representing 46% of patients diagnosed in our sample.