Small daily aspirin dose 'cuts cancer risk' (death rates reduced by up to 60%!)

[Turborama]

Source: BBC

A small daily dose of aspirin substantially reduces death rates from a range of common cancers, a study suggests.

Research at Oxford University and other centres found that it cut overall cancer deaths by at least a fifth. The study, published in the Lancet, covered some 25,000 patients, mostly from the UK.

=snip=

Lead researcher Professor Peter Rothwell said the findings might well underestimate the reduction in deaths that would result from longer-term treatment with aspirin.

The risk of cancer death was reduced by 20% over 20 years. For individual cancers the reduction was about 40% for bowel cancer, 30% for lung cancer, 10% for prostate cancer and 60% for oesophageal cancer.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11930988

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Aspirin link to lower cancer death rates

December 07 2010 Last updated at 07:49 GMT

A small dose of aspirin every day could significantly reduce the risk of dying from a range of common cancers, a study suggests.

Research at Oxford University and other centres found that it cut overall cancer deaths by at least a fifth.

Experts say the study, published in the Lancet, shows aspirin's benefits outweigh its associated risk of stomach and gut bleeding.

Fergus Walsh reports (VIDEO): http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11933781

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)62110-1/abstract">Abstract of the report

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Daily Dose Of Aspirin Could Cut Cancer Risk

8:55am UK, Tuesday December 07, 2010
Thomas Moore, health correspondent

Researchers from the University of Oxford say the results are so dramatic people should consider taking a low-dose aspirin once a day from the age of 45.

The doctors studied trials involving more than 25,000 people, who were taking 75mg of aspirin a day - a quarter of the normal pain-killing dose.

Five years after starting treatment, cancer deaths fall by 34%.

Professor Peter Rothwell, who led the research, said the benefits far outweigh the risk of bleeding in the stomach.

More on this and video report on this historic medical breakthrough here: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Aspirin-Daily-Dose-Can-Cut-The-Risk-Of-Cancer-By-A-Third-According-To-New-Research/Article/201012115848891?lpos=UK_News_First_Home_Page_Feature_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15848891_Aspirin:_Daily_Dose_Can_Cut_The_Risk_Of_Cancer_By_A_Third,_According_To_New_Research

[maddezmom]

1. this is great news and read about it earlier here

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9626849

[Turborama]

2. Thanks for the link. It's interesting to see that the evidence was building last month.

This Lancet report only came out today, though, and is probably why it's the lead story on BBC News and Sky News on TV right now.

The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 7 December 2010

Effect of daily aspirin on long-term risk of death due to cancer: analysis of individual patient data from randomised trials

Prof Peter M Rothwell FMedSci a , Prof F Gerald R Fowkes FRCPE b, Prof Jill FF Belch FRCP c, Hisao Ogawa MD d, Prof Charles P Warlow FMedSci e, Prof Tom W Meade FRS f

Background
Treatment with daily aspirin for 5 years or longer reduces subsequent risk of colorectal cancer. Several lines of evidence suggest that aspirin might also reduce risk of other cancers, particularly of the gastrointestinal tract, but proof in man is lacking. We studied deaths due to cancer during and after randomised trials of daily aspirin versus control done originally for prevention of vascular events.

Methods
We used individual patient data from all randomised trials of daily aspirin versus no aspirin with mean duration of scheduled trial treatment of 4 years or longer to determine the effect of allocation to aspirin on risk of cancer death in relation to scheduled duration of trial treatment for gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal cancers. In three large UK trials, long-term post-trial follow-up of individual patients was obtained from death certificates and cancer registries.

Results
In eight eligible trials (25 570 patients, 674 cancer deaths), allocation to aspirin reduced death due to cancer (pooled odds ratio (OR) 0·79, 95% CI 0·68—0·92, p=0·003). On analysis of individual patient data, which were available from seven trials (23 535 patients, 657 cancer deaths), benefit was apparent only after 5 years' follow-up (all cancers, hazard ratio (HR) 0·66, 0·50—0·87; gastrointestinal cancers, 0·46, 0·27—0·77; both p=0·003). The 20-year risk of cancer death (1634 deaths in 12 659 patients in three trials) remained lower in the aspirin groups than in the control groups (all solid cancers, HR 0·80, 0·72—0·88, p<0·0001; gastrointestinal cancers, 0·65, 0·54—0·78, p<0·0001), and benefit increased (interaction p=0·01) with scheduled duration of trial treatment (≥7·5 years: all solid cancers, 0·69, 0·54—0·88, p=0·003; gastrointestinal cancers, 0·41, 0·26—0·66, p=0·0001). The latent period before an effect on deaths was about 5 years for oesophageal, pancreatic, brain, and lung cancer, but was more delayed for stomach, colorectal, and prostate cancer. For lung and oesophageal cancer, benefit was confined to adenocarcinomas, and the overall effect on 20-year risk of cancer death was greatest for adenocarcinomas (HR 0·66, 0·56—0·77, p<0·0001). Benefit was unrelated to aspirin dose (75 mg upwards), sex, or smoking, but increased with age—the absolute reduction in 20-year risk of cancer death reaching 7·08% (2·42—11·74) at age 65 years and older.

Interpretation
Daily aspirin reduced deaths due to several common cancers during and after the trials. Benefit increased with duration of treatment and was consistent across the different study populations. These findings have implications for guidelines on use of aspirin and for understanding of carcinogenesis and its susceptibility to drug intervention.

Funding
None.

From: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)62110-1/fulltext">The Lancet

[orleans]

3. so is this an asprin for adults? or baby asprin? n/t

[Turborama]

5. I've only seen doses of 75 miligrams reported. I don't know how many miligrams baby Aspirin have...

I'm definitely going out and buying some packs of 75Mgs, though. Might even be worth buying shares in Aspirin, if they exist as a single company and aren't part of Unilever or the suchlike.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Aspirin is a generic drug, but Bayer still owns the name as a trademark in some countries

Not, it seems, in the USA or UK, where anyone can call their product 'aspirin', but in places like Canada, where the generic term is 'Acetylsalicylic Acid' or 'ASA', as far as I can tell. See eg http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/medeff/advisories-avis/prof/_2002/aspirin_asa_hpc-cps-eng.php

[Turborama]

15. Thanks for the info and the link

Darn it! Looks like my hopes of never having to worry about money again have been dashed, yet again.

[truth2power]

10. That thread is locked. I don't know why. n/t

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. It's archived, because no-one has posted to it for nearly 2 weeks (nt)

[truth2power]

18. Thanks. I should have checked the dates. eom

[Turborama]

4. NYT: Aspirin Helps in Reducing Cancer Deaths, a Study Finds

By RONI CARYN RABIN
Published: December 6, 2010

Many Americans take aspirin to lower their risk of heart disease, but a new study suggests a remarkable added benefit, reporting that patients who took aspirin regularly for a period of several years were 21 percent less likely decades later to die of solid tumor cancers, including cancers of the stomach, esophagus and lung.

As part of the new study, published online Monday in the journal Lancet, researchers examined the cancer death rates of 25,570 patients who had participated in eight different randomized controlled trials of aspirin that ended up to 20 years earlier.

Participants who had been assigned to the aspirin arms of the studies were 20 percent less likely after 20 years to have died of solid tumor cancers than those who had been in the comparison group taking dummy pills during the clinical trials, and their risk of gastrointestinal cancer death was 35 percent lower. The risk of lung cancer death was 30 percent lower, the risk of colorectal cancer death was 40 percent lower and the risk of esophageal cancer death was 60 percent lower, the study reported.

The specific dose of aspirin taken did not seem to matter — most trials gave out low doses of 75 to 100 milligrams — but the participants in the longest lasting trials had the most drastic reductions in cancer death years later.

Full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/us/07aspirin.html?src=twrhp

[fasttense]

7. Figures, I'm allergic to aspirin.

The last time I took it, I broke out in hives and my tongue swelled.

[Le Taz Hot]

8. Yeah, my stomach won't tolerate it and OTC Priloec is like

$20.00. (sigh)

[enlightenment]

16. Try enteric coated asprin -

it's designed to stay intact until it passes through the stomach. Not sure if they have it in low-dose, but I suspect they will soon if this study spurs sales.

[kath]

20. They do have the low-dose in an enteric coated form - bought some just last night.

Here in the US, the low-dose form (or "baby aspirin") is 81 mg - close enough.

[enlightenment]

23. That's nice to know, thanks! nt

[Stuart G]

9. K and R...

[truth2power]

12. Anti-inflammatory effect...

The other thread, linked above, is archived or locked for some reason. But in that thread, Kestrel, who is a veterinarian, says that the anti-inflammatory effect is what's at issue here.

As soon as I read this thread I thought the same thing. No, my training is not in a scientific field, but MANY years ago I read a book (can't remember the title) whose author said that inflammation was a significant factor in the genesis of cancer. That made sense to me.

Someone in another thread mentioned Ibuprophen. Both that and aspirin are NSAIDS, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories.

Yes, I know that aspirin can also cause inflammation. Don't know what to say about that.

[BadgerKid]

14. Disease as inflammation

is an idea that emerged in the last few years, maybe earlier.

[mr_smith007]

19. I did a graduate thesis

on a molecule called cyclooxygenase-2 about 6 years ago. I notice when data mining that whenever an organ is under great stress such as biochemical assaults on kidneys, episodes of angina, heart attacks, bowel diseases, etc, the COX-2 molecule was upregulated like crazy and it halted apoptosis (programmed cell death). This is a protective measure to keep as many of the cells in the organ functioning as possible to survive the biological assault. The problem is, the COX-2 molecule kept apoptosis from occuring in general which kept dna damage going, cells kept dividing that had no business dividing. Sooner or later, a cell with an activated oncogene would pop up in the presence of high COX-2 and you have cancer. In this research I noted that NSAIDS were a potent inhibitor of this COX-2 enzyme and could have negative effects on organs under crisis but a positive preventative role in cancer prevention. It was all speculative back then since I had no controlled clinical studies to work with but I am starting to see this now and wonder if this mechanism is the real one.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

21. That's interesting.

I always wonder if results noted in the OP aren't, at least partly, due to the fact that people who follow regimens like the aspirin regimen are otherwise health-conscious people... AND regular visitors of doctors.

[NickB79]

22. Awesome story. I too did cancer research in college a few years ago

Though we were working on attempting to understand the molecular basis for the development of resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs over time by breast carcinoma cells. Recently I saw that my biochemistry professor had published a piece using some of the underlying work we did all those years ago.

Isn't it an amazing feeling when something you worked on in the lab pans out years later?

BTW, welcome to DU! :wave:

[mr_smith007]

24. It sure does.

I remember years ago telling my parents to incorporate aspirin into their daily routine and they at first thought I was talking about warding off vascular disease. I told them at the time that it would be for cancer prevention and they just smiled and said good idea. When these links between cancer prevention and NSAIDS started popping up, I would email the news article along with a copy of my research paper to say "I knew about this yeeears ago" :). Wish I would have had the grant money to do these epidemiological studies back then.

[kwassa]

13. I take the low-dose aspirin in conjunction with a blood thinner

The aspirin and blood-thinner work together better than either on their own, says my cardiologist.

81 milligrams seems to be the standard here.

It is nice to see it has other advantageous effects!

[tpsbmam]

17. Already take 81mg x 2 a day. Hope I fall into the helped group -- I have enough

frigging illnesses on my plate already!