Acetaminophen Linked to Blood Cancers

Chronic users of acetaminophen, an over-the-counter painkiller sold as Tylenol in the United States, may be at an increased risk for some blood cancers, including lymphoma and myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS.

Researchers followed nearly 65,000 older men and women in Washington State. At the beginning of the study, they asked the participants about their use of painkillers over the past ten years and made sure that no one had cancer (except skin cancer). After around six years on average, 577 people — or less than one percent — developed a cancer
involving the blood cells.

More than nine percent of those who developed one of these cancers used high amounts of acetaminophen, compared to only five percent of those who didn’t get sick. After accounting for factors like age, arthritis and a family history of certain blood cancers, chronic acetaminophen users had nearly twice the risk of developing the disease. Researchers emphasize that further research is needed in order to determine whether acetaminophen can conclusively be linked to blood cancers.

Other painkillers, such as ibuprofen and aspirin, were not linked to blood cancers in the study.

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