Dose of aspirin could prevent some cancers

Regular use of aspirin reduces the overall risk of cancer. Researchers at Harvard Medical School found a lower risk of colorectal cancer and other tumours of the gastrointestinal tract if aspirin tablet was taken; the individual had a three per cent absolute lower risk of any type of cancer than those not reporting regular aspirin use.

“We now can recommend that individuals consider taking aspirin to reduce risk of colorectal cancer — particularly those with other reasons for regular use, such as heart disease prevention — but we are not at a point where we can make a general recommendation for overall cancer prevention,” said Senior Author Andrew Chan, a Harvard Medical School associate professor.

The scientists examined the association of aspirin with occurrence of new cancer cases among 135, 965 women and men enrolled in two large prospective studies in the US, following them for at least 32 years.

“Regular aspirin use may prevent a substantial proportion of colorectal cancers and complement benefits of screening,” read excerpts of the study findings published in the JAMA Oncology journal.

However, they noted that protective benefit appeared after five years of continuous use at dosages ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 standard tablets a week or one low-dose tablet a day and further warned that the protective aspect should not be used as a replacement for the regular screening for cancers.