Narrator: This is Science Today. A new study has found several factors decrease one's risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the immune system that has been steadily rising in this nation. Elizabeth Holly, a cancer epidemiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, led the study.

Holly: We found that things like plant allergies, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - having taken those on a regular basis and also the use of cholesterol lowering drugs - all were found to be protective for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Narrator: That's because all these factors slow up the activation of 'B' cells, which when overproduced, leads to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Holly says finding out cholesterol lowering medications and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have this protective role is especially exciting.

Holly: What that means is that people using these medications for other conditions may just have an added bonus of lower risk for some forms of cancer.

Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.