Aspirin can prevent the spread of cancer

Can protect aspirin from cancer?

More and more people worldwide are getting cancer. What are the options for effectively treating cancer or preventing it? Researchers now found that aspirin can play a life-saving role in the prevention of cancer.

The researchers at Cardiff University found in their current study that aspirin can be used preventively in cancer. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "PLOS One Medicine".

Aspirin is often used for headaches. But aspirin can do much more. Researchers have now discovered that aspirin can prevent cancer and even prevent the spread of cancer in the body. (Image: Photographee.eu/fotolia.com)

Aspirin is useful for the treatment of cancer?

The use of low-dose aspirin is well established for preventive treatment of heart disease, stroke and cancer, says study author Peter Elwood of Cardiff University. However, it is clear that the drug can also play a valuable role as an additional treatment for cancer.

What effects has the intake of aspirin?

The data from a total of 71 studies were evaluated for the study. The systematic medical analysis, which examined the survival of 120,000 patients with cancer taking aspirin, compared these data with those of 400,000 patients who did not take aspirin. The results show that in some cancer cases, the living portion of patients was 20 to 30 percent higher when patients were taking aspirin. The spread of cancer to other parts of the body has also been significantly reduced in aspirin-ingesting patients, explain the physicians.

Effects of taking aspirin on colon cancer

One of the colorectal cancer studies analyzed by the researchers shows that an aspirin-taking male without diabetes around the age of 65 has a similar probability of prognosis for colon cancer as a man five years younger who does not take aspirin. For a woman of similar age to colon cancer, the addition of aspirin could lead to a comparable prognosis, as in a four-year-younger woman, the experts say.

The evidence suggests a benefit of aspirin in all cancers

Nearly half of the studies included in this review were for colorectal cancer patients, and most other studies were from patients with breast or prostate cancer. There have been very few studies of patients with other, less common types of cancer, but by and large the evidence for all cancers suggests a benefit of aspirin, explain the physicians.

Further research is needed

Cancer patients should be aware of the evidence presented and be helped to make their own judgment on the balance between the risks and the benefits of the daily low dose of aspirin, the researchers demand. However, all patients should first consult their family doctor before taking any new medication, study author Elwood advises. Further investigation is now urgently needed and patients should be encouraged to participate in appropriate research studies. (As)