Low-Dose Aspirin Demonstrates Major Benefit in Preventing Colorectal Cancer Recurrence, Trial Finds

An everyday amount of this common painkiller can substantially reduce the risk of specific bowel cancers returning after surgical removal, according to a large-scale trial into the beneficial effects of the everyday medication.

Swedish researchers found that individuals who used a low daily quantity of aspirin after having cancer resection were half less likely to suffer a malignant recurrence over the next 36 months versus those who took a inactive treatment.

The research included cancer patients whose cancers carried specific genetic mutations that made them responsive to its tumor-inhibiting properties. Approximately 40% of bowel cancer patients possess such genetic traits.

“In my opinion this may change medical guidelines,” stated one expert. “If you had such genetic profiles, the chance of the cancer returning was reduced by over half. It is a major effect.”

Close to millions of patients are found to have bowel cancer every year worldwide, with over 40,000 cases in the United Kingdom. A large number receive tumour excision, but in spite of advances in chemotherapy, beam therapy and surgery, the cancer can come back if malignant cells are remaining.

Incidence of colorectal cancer are increasing across the globe in adults younger than 50, and while the reasons are not fully understood, experts suspect that processed food, obesity, a insufficiency of physical activity and toxins produced by gut bacteria are implicated.

Previous studies have demonstrated that aspirin can help prevent colorectal cancer in patients who are at high risk due to hereditary conditions such as an inherited mutation. However, it was unclear whether the medication lowered the chances of the disease coming back after an operation.

Investigators enrolled more than thousands of individuals who had had colorectal tumor surgery at clinics across Northern Europe. Molecular screening on nearly 3,000 of the patients found over 1,100, or a substantial proportion, had mutations in genes that make up a biological mechanism known as a gene pathway, which is involved in bowel cancer.

The individuals with the alterations were split to use either a specific amount of medication per day or a placebo for an extended period after treatment. Those taking aspirin were significantly less prone to experience the malignancy recur than those taking the inactive treatment, the trial confirmed.

The drug is believed to shield against the disease by reducing immune response, disrupting with the specific pathway, and curtailing the behavior of clotting cells, which can encase malignant cells and potentially hide them from the patient’s natural protection.

Scientists stressed the need to conduct genetic tests on every colorectal cancers so that people who could profit from this approach could be prescribed the therapy. “It’s a widely available treatment that is highly low-cost,” added.

This medication has been in use for more than a hundred years, but using the treatment long-term still poses risks. In the research, several individuals had “serious reactions” possibly linked to the treatment, for example allergic reaction, digestive hemorrhage and intracranial bleeding. Several participants succumbed across both sides of the trial, with one fatality possibly caused by aspirin.

A scientist said: “Stopping new cancers saves lives, and identifying new ways to achieve this is essential to our efforts to fight cancer. There is growing evidence that in particular groups of individuals, low-dose this treatment can offer protection from intestinal cancer.”

“We need more extensive, rigorous trials to confirm who would most benefit from consuming the medication to help them have better outcomes, better quality of life, free from the fear of cancer.”