Three aspirin per week ‘cut cancer risks’
TAKING aspirin a few times a week could cut the death risk from cancer.
Research showed it slashes chances of dying from breast cancer by a quarter and boosts survival rates for bladder tumour patients by a third.
The effects came from taking three doses a week, scientists said.
Dr Holli Loomans-Kropp, of America’s National Cancer Institute, said: “The results add to accumulating evidence aspirin may improve survival for some cancers.”
Millions pop the overthe-counter “wonderpill” daily to protect against heart disease, under GP guidance. It thins the blood, reducing the risk of blood clots.
Its anti-inflammatory effects are also believed to reduce the risk of bowel cancer and some other forms of the disease.
The findings are based on around 140,000 men and women, mostly over 65, who were tracked for up to 13 years in a screening trial.
During the study period more than 32,500 cancers were diagnosed – including 4,552 of the breast and 1,751 of the bladder.
Breast cancer is diagnosed in around 55,000 women in the UK each year. It claims 11,500 lives annually. Around 10,200 new bladder cancer cases are diagnosed a year, with 5,400 deaths from the disease.
Dr Loomans-Kropp said: “Although aspirin at least three times a week was associated with the strongest risk reduction, any use increased bladder and breast cancer survival.”
Experiments have suggested the drug combats inflammatory processes in the two cancers.
But it did not reduce the risk of them developing – or treat or stop – four other forms of the disease analysed, including cancers of the gullet, stomach, pancreas and womb. Researchers have now called for more population-based evidence. Dr Loomans-Kropp added: “The association of aspirin use with cancer incidence and survival in older individuals remains uncertain.”
And she warned of the potential harms from aspirin. The drug can cause dangerous stomach bleeds.
The findings were published in the online Jama Network Open journal.