The new information about aspirin comes from Yin Cao, a research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health, who led the recent study. Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an anti-inflammatory medication. Aspirin was first synthesized in 1897 by the German company Bayer.
With the study, researchers examined data collected from more than 100,000 men and women who had enrolled in separate studies in the 1980s. The researchers found an overall 5 percent decreased risk for all cancers in people who reported taking two or more aspirin tablets per week. This decrease was driven mostly by a 20 percent reduction in risk for gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. This included a 25 percent drop in colorectal cancer risk. There were no reductions in risk for breast, advanced prostate, lung, or other non-GI cancers associated with aspirin use.
The effects were not quick to occur and the effects did not last for ever: significant risk reductions for developing cancer came only after 16 years of using the aspirin, and the effects dissipated four years after discontinuing aspirin use.
In the research brief, Cao writes: “Previous studies of aspirin and cancer have been limited in terms of their size, length of follow-up, or ability to examine aspirin use in the context of other lifestyle factors. Our research provides critical information regarding the full constellation of potential benefits of aspirin use, at a range of doses, timing, and duration of use, within a large population of individuals.”
Therefore the study outcome is that regularly taking aspirin for several years may protect users from some types of GI cancers, especially colorectal cancer. However, as with any prolonged use of a medication, advice should be sought from a healthcare professional. There is a risk that long-term aspirin use may also come with an elevated risk of adverse effects, such as GI bleeding.
Furthermore, the results have yet to be published in a peer-reviewed journal. However, the findings have been presented to a recent meeting of the annual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), which was held in Philadelphia in April 2015.
