Long Term Daily Dose of Adult-Strength Aspirin = Reduced Cancer Risk?

Gloria Gamat — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 15:14:31 +0000

In populations with high rates of colorectal, prostate, and breast cancer, cancer risk can be moderately reduced with a daily dose of adult-strength aspirin (at least 325mg/day) if taken for at least five years.

Eric Jacobs, Ph.D., of the American Cancer Society, together with colleagues looked for associations between long-term daily aspirin use (at least 325mg/day) and cancer incidence in a group of nearly 70,000 men and 76,000 women and during the 12-year follow-up found the following:

daily use of adult-strength aspirin for at least five years was associated with an approximately 15 percent relative reduction in overall cancer risk (the decrease was not statistically significant in women)
aspirin use was associated with a 20 percent reduced risk of prostate cancer and a 30 percent reduced risk of colorectal cancer in men and women (compared to people who didn’t take aspirin)
no effect on risk in other cancers examined–lung cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma, leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, pancreatic cancer, and kidney cancer
aspirin use for less than five years was not associated with decreased cancer risk

According to the study’s authors:

“Our results do not have immediate clinical implications. Confirmation from randomized trials is necessary before a reduction in cancer risk could be considered a benefit of using adult-strength aspirin.

Our results indicate that a randomized trial examining the effect of aspirin on cancer incidence would need to be both large and long term, probably lasting a minimum of 10 years. More evidence is needed before any such trial can be justified.”

So there, hold your horses…and don’t go popping aspirin to lower your cancer risk, not just yet. Besides, things such as this should be discussed with your doctor first.