Earlier this year Digital Journal reported on a long-term and statistically large study that found regular use of aspirin lead to a reduced risk from some types of gastrointestinal cancers. Now a new, more extensive, study aims to explore aspirin in relation to several types of cancers.
The study is termed the “Add-Aspirin phase III trial” and the study is said to be the most extensive ever conducted. The study is backed by Cancer Research U.K. and the U.S. National Institute for Health Research. the study will be run from over 100 centers around the world and the data will take 12 years to gather.
Incorporated into the study will be some 11,000 patients who have recently suffered from or who are currently receiving treatment for bowel, breast, oesophagus, prostate or stomach cancer.
The core aim of the study will be to see whether taking aspirin every day over a five years period can stop or delay those types of cancer that have been detected and treated at an early stage from returning. Should cancers return, the research will also look at how the cancers reform and return.
If the study concludes that aspirin has a beneficial effect, then this longstanding medication could represent a new frontier for cancer treatment. Aspirin is very cheap manufacture and it is simple to produce.
Back in 2010, a meta-analysis of eight clinical trials involving regular aspirin use was published in The Lancet (“Effect of daily aspirin on long-term risk of death due to cancer: analysis of individual patient data from randomised trials”.) These studies showed a substantial reduction in mortality for a number of different cancers. The success of these studies has led to the formation of the new review.
Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is a salicylate medication. It is classed as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Tablets are used to treat pain, fever, and inflammation. Low doses of the drug are already used to help prevent heart attacks, strokes, and blood clot formation.
Interviewed by Zenopa, Dr Fiona Reddington, Cancer Research U.K.’s head of population research, stated: “Aspirin’s possible effects on cancer are fascinating and we hope this trial will give us a clear answer on whether or not the drug helps stop some cancers coming back.”
