Researchers have found that common over-the-counter painkillers such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), when taken on a regular basis, lower the levels of the prostate cancer biomarker prostate-specific antigen (PSA).

The findings are ambiguous, in that they do not point out whether NSAIDs actually protect from prostate cancer or rather they reduce the usefulness of the PSA test as an important screening tool for prostate cancer. Theoretically, reducing inflammation helps prevent cancer, as the disease is often preceded by chronic inflammation. However, it is still debated whether regular intake of NSAIDs, which can have serious side-effects, can actually help reduce the risk of developing cancers such as prostate cancer.

A recent study shows that one in five American men in their 40s had a PSA test in the past year, and the results for screening rates in black men are still “discouraging,” investigators said.

Overall, about 20% of all men ages 40 to 49 had had PSA evaluations within the previous year, according to the study. Black men were more than twice as likely to have been screened as men in the general population. The study found that 53.7% of men aged 50 and older had PSA testing within the past year.

Also, researchers from four universities in England found that tall men have a 19 percent increase in their chances of getting the disease. Using the shortest men as a baseline, the risk increased 6 percent for every additional 4 inches in height. Their research was published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Meanwhile, men with high serum calcium levels were not more likely to get prostate cancer, but rather they were more likely to die from it, another study found. The findings showed a near tripling in risk, which was unexpected. Researchers used data from the first National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I) and published their findings also in the September issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

In early August, the 16-member U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has concluded that blood tests that may discover prostate cancer are not recommended for men over 75, because the subsequent harms outweigh theoretical benefits. The panel found that the screenings, which only show whether there are damaged cells in the prostate, lead to unnecessary anxiety, surgery and complications which are usually by far more dangerous than tossing the screenings altogether.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said that benefits of treatment in men over 75 "are small to none" and are mostly theoretical. The often encountered harms of treatment are impotence, bladder control and bowel problems, among others. At the same time, there is no actual evidence that the treatment saves the lives of these elderly men.

Actor Robert De Niro was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2003.