Debate Focuses On Use Of Aspirin In Prevention And Treatment Colorectal Cancer

Aspirin is a very popular drug that is used as a pain killer, anti-inflammatory, and even in managing heart disease through its blood thinning properties.

Now, evidence suggests that it can also be used to treat and manage colon cancer.

A study by the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital has shown that colon cancer patients who took 325 milligrams (mg) of aspirin twice a week lowered the risk of dying from colon cancer by 30% compard to those who did not take aspirin.

Patients who were part of the test had an average of eleven years after the cancer has been detected.

Doctors believe that aspirin works in treating colon cancer by blocking an enzyme called COX-2 which is expressed in the cancer tumor. 66% of colorectal cancer produces the COX-2 enzyme.

A long term study by the same group also has shown that for men who have had at least 6 years of regular aspirin use helped in the prevention of colon cancer. Aspirin use for maximum effect was fourteen pills a week or two pills a day.

Doctors warn that despite the positive effects of aspirin, it also comes with risk. Apsirin can cause bleeding in the stomach, intestines and in the brain. Patients who are considering aspirin as part of their therapy or diet should first consult a doctor.

Should aspirin be used to prevent cancer?

Aspirin, the everyday drug taken by countless people around the world to ward off pain and reduce their risk of developing heart disease, may have a new trick up its sleeve –-preventing cancer.

A growing body of evidence suggests that taking aspirin may reduce an individual's chances of developing colorectal cancer and perhaps other malignancies, but whether that evidence is strong enough to outweigh the risks of prescribing it to millions of healthy people is the subject of debate.

At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2012 Congress in Vienna, both sides of that debate are being aired in front of an audience of experts in one of the meeting's popular Controversy sessions.

Observational Study On Link Between Daily Aspirin Use And Reduced Cancer Mortality

Aspirin is a drug that is used as a pain killer (analgesic) and a fever reducer (antipyretic). It also has anti-inflammatory properties. Aspirin is also known as acetylsalicylic acid.

It is a salicylate drug that was first isolated by Felix Hoffmann, a chemist with the German company Bayer, under the direction of Arthur Eichengrün. It works by stopping the production of certain natural substances that cause fever, pain, swelling, and blood clots.

Nonprescription aspirin is used to reduce fever and to relieve mild to moderate pain from headaches, menstrual periods, arthritis, colds, toothaches, and muscle aches. Nonprescription aspirin is also used to prevent heart attacks in people who have had a heart attack in the past or who have angina (chest pain that occurs when the heart does not get enough oxygen).

Daily aspirin usage associated with lower cancer mortality

Daily aspirin usage is associated with lower overall cancer mortality, but the association may be smaller than what was previously believed, according to a study published August 10 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

A recent pooled analysis of randomized trials looking at the effects of daily aspirin use as a preventive measure for vascular events found a significant decrease in overall cancer mortality, of 37%, during a 5-year follow-up analysis, and 15% during a ten-year follow-up. Despite this finding, the effects of long-term daily aspirin use on cancer mortality remain largely unknown.

In order to determine the effects that long-term daily aspirin use has on overall cancer mortality, Eric J. Jacobs, Ph.D., of the Epidemiology Research Program at the American Cancer Society in Atlanta and colleagues looked at data on 100,139 men and women from the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort who had no prior history of cancer and had been taking a daily dose of aspirin. They used follow-up questionnaires to investigate peoples' aspirin intake.