Does Aspirin Reduce the Chance of Colon Cancer

People with a genetic susceptibility to colon cancer could cut their chances of developing the disease in half by taking a daily dose of aspirin, researchers said Monday.

The finding might lead to other treatments by helping researchers understand how aspirin combats colon cancer, one of the top three cancers in rich countries.

Though aspirin has been used widely for years to treat minor aches and to alleviate fevers, it can irritate the stomach and intestines and cause major bleeding.

European researchers followed more than 1,000 people with Lynch syndrome, a genetic mutation that makes them vulnerable to cancers in the colon, rectum, stomach, brain, liver, womb and elsewhere. The syndrome accounts for about 5 percent of all colon cancers.

About half of the study participants were given 600 milligrams, or two aspirin pills daily, while the other half got placebo pills for about four years.

In the group that got aspirin, six people developed colon cancer, versus 16 in the group that got placebos. "We are delighted," said John Burn of Newcastle University in Britain, who led the study.

"All the more so because we stopped giving the aspirin after four years, yet the effect is continuing," he said in a statement.

Burn presented the study results Monday in Berlin at a joint meeting of the European Cancer Organisation and the European Society for Medical Oncology.

Experts said the finding would have no immediate impact on the general public.

"This doesn't mean that everyone should start taking aspirin if they're worried about bowel cancer," said Henry Snowcroft of Cancer Research United Kingdom.

"Aspirin can cause significant side effects if not used as directed by a doctor," Snowcroft said.

Previous studies have found patients who already have colon cancer and are being treated with chemotherapy and surgery may further reduce their risk of dying by up to 30 percent by taking aspirin. The cheap drug is also taken by millions of people worldwide to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Serious Medical Concerns over Daily Aspirin

Healthy people taking aspirin to prevent heart attacks could be doing themselves more harm than good, experts have concluded.

Millions of Britons are believed to be taking a daily dose of the drug in the hope that it acts as an insurance against heart trouble

Its routine use for the prevention of vascular problems "cannot be supported", UK professors from the Aspirin for Asymptomatic Atherosclerosis (AAA) said.

Professor Peter Weissberg, of the British Heart Foundation which part-funded the research, said: "We know that patients with symptoms of artery disease, such as angina, heart attack or stroke, can reduce their risk of further problems by taking a small dose of aspirin each day.

"The findings of this study agree with our current advice that people who do not have symptomatic or diagnosed artery or heart disease should not take aspirin, because the risks of bleeding may outweigh the benefits."

Reducing the risk of cardiovascular problems had to be set against the increased risk of internal bleeding, the study said.

In patients who have already had a heart attack, the risk of a second is so much higher that the balance is in favour of taking aspirin, Professor Gerry Fowkes, from the Wolfson Unit for Prevention of Peripheral Vascular Diseases in Edinburgh, added.