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Low‐dose aspirin use and mortality risk in patients with head and neck cancer: A nationwide cohort study of 10 770 patients

Several recent observational studies have linked low‐dose aspirin use to improved survival in patients with head and neck cancer. However, studies of patterns of aspirin use and risk of cancer‐specific mortality are lacking. This nationwide cohort study included all patients in the Danish Cancer Registry with a primary diagnosis of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) during 2000 to 2016, aged 30 to 84 years, without prior cancer (except nonmelanoma skin cancer) and alive 1 year after diagnosis. Nationwide registries provided information on filled prescriptions, mortality and potential confounding factors. For a subpopulation, a clinical database provided additional information, including human papillomavirus (HPV) tumor status. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between postdiagnostic low‐dose aspirin use (≥1 prescription within first year after diagnosis) and risk of cancer‐specific mortality. We identified 10 770 patients with HNSCC during a median follow‐up of 3.9 years. Of these, 1799 (16.7%) were low‐dose aspirin users. Postdiagnostic use of low‐dose aspirin was associated with a HR of 0.97 (95% CI 0.82‐1.15) for cancer‐specific mortality. Similar neutral associations were found according to patterns of aspirin use. No apparent trends emerged according to age, sex, topography or stage. A tendency towards a decreased cancer‐specific mortality risk with low‐dose aspirin use was observed among HPV‐positive patients; however, the statistical precision was low. In conclusion, we did not observe an association between postdiagnostic low‐dose aspirin use and cancer‐specific mortality in a nationwide cohort of patients with HNSCC.