Aspirin Helps Prevent Gastro Cancers

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Aspirin Helps Prevent Gastro Cancers, Study Finds


But experts caution against starting to take it every day in hopes of preventing disease


Taking aspirin regularly over several years may help prevent gastrointestinal cancers, a new study suggests.


There was a 20 percent lower risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, especially in the colon and rectum, among people taking aspirin, said lead researcher Yin Cao, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.


But Cao doesn’t think people should start taking aspirin to prevent cancer until more research is done. “The results of ongoing research to develop more tailored treatment based upon a personalized assessment of risks and benefits is critical before recommending aspirin for preventing cancer,” she said.


Moreover, patients and their doctors need to consider the potential risks of taking aspirin, including stomach bleeding, Cao said.


Cao’s team found that men and women who took a regular dose of aspirin (325 milligrams) two times a week or more had a lower risk of cancer overall than people who did not regularly take aspirin. The reduced risk was largely due to fewer cases of gastrointestinal cancers, including colon cancer, rectal cancer and esophageal cancer.


Regular aspirin use was not associated with a reduced risk of other cancers. Specifically, no link was found between aspirin use and a lower risk of breast cancer, advanced prostate cancer or lung cancer, the researchers said.


Moreover, the benefit of aspirin in reducing overall cancer risk appeared to depend on how much one took. So the more aspirin taken, the more the risk was reduced. Amounts ranged from less than one aspirin a week to 15 or more, the researchers said.


Getting the biggest benefit from aspirin required taking it for at least 16 years. The benefit was no longer seen within four years of stopping it, the researchers found. And the study only showed an association between aspirin use and gastrointestinal cancer risk, not a cause-and-effect relationship.




“Although aspirin is recommended for most people who have had a heart attack, and has some benefits for cancer risk as well, at this point the American Cancer Society does not recommend that people use aspirin specifically to prevent cancer because it is not clear that the benefits with respect to cancer outweigh the risks,” Jacobs said.


More information

Visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute for more on aspirin and cancer risk.


SOURCES: Yin Cao, postdoctoral research fellow, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston; Eric Jacobs, Ph.D., strategic director, pharmacoepidemiology, American Cancer Society; April 19, 2015, presentation, American Association for Cancer Research meeting, Philadelphia

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