The Wonders of Aspirin

Ivanhoe Newswire
Wednesday, April 18, 2007; 12:00 AM

By Vivian Richardson, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent

ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Aspirin has long been recommended to people with an increased risk of stroke or heart attack. A small dose of aspirin every day can reduce the risk of heart disease. New research reveals a larger dose of aspirin every day could also reduce the risk of cancer, though it is not clear whether the benefits outweigh the risk.

"The American Cancer Society does not recommend using aspirin to prevent cancer because of the potential for serious gastrointestinal bleeding," American Cancer Society researcher Eric Jacobs, Ph.D., told Ivanhoe. The new report reveals, among 70,000 male and 76,000 female study participants, long-term daily use of at least 325 milligrams of aspirin is associated with an approximately 15-percent reduction in the overall risk of cancer for men and women.

"We feel that recommendation for aspirin use at this point should continue to be based on heart disease and stroke, not cancer," said Dr. Jacobs.

Low doses of aspirin, meaning 80 milligrams to 100 milligrams, is often recommended to reduce heart disease risk. A Women's Health Study trial recently revealed a low daily dose of aspirin did not reduce the risk of cancer. Dr. Jacobs said he and his colleagues wanted to know if a higher dose would have an impact.

"If further studies confirm that this dose of aspirin helps prevent cancer, whereas a lower dose does not, that might have implications for people who are already taking aspirin for heart disease prevention," Dr. Jacobs said. "But we're not there yet."

Researchers from the University of Minnesota report similar findings. In a study of more than 20,000 women, those who reported regular use of aspirin had a 16-percent reduced risk of developing cancer and a 13-percent reduced risk of dying from cancer compared to women who did not use aspirin.

Aspirin, or acetylsalicylic acid, has been around for more than 200 years.

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SOURCE: Interview with Eric Jacobs, Ph.D.; Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 2007;99:608-615; 2007 Annual Meeting of the America Association for Cancer Research in Los Angeles, April 14-18,2007