An aspirin a day helps keep death from cancer away, research finds
Taking an aspirin a day can cut your risk of dying from cancer by 25 per cent, according to research published today.
The study of 25,570 patients – published in British medical journal The Lancet – showed a drop in long-term mortality from all kinds of cancer among patients who took small doses daily for five years.
Alastair Watson, professor of translational medicine at the University of East Anglia said the latest research “is further proof that aspirin is by a long way the most amazing drug in the world”.
Aspirin cut the risk of dying from colorectal cancer by 40 per cent and oesophageal cancer by 60 per cent.
The synthesis and mass- marketing of aspirin by Bayer of Germany at the end of the 19th century marked the birth of modern pharmaceuticals. Many experts believe the industry’s first drug has never been surpassed.
The study, led by Peter Rothwell of Oxford university, built on data from eight clinical trials to assess the effectiveness of aspirin in preventing cardiovascular disease, until now regarded as its main benefit. The authors followed up participants’ medical records for up to 20 years, focusing on cancer.
The drug’s main adverse side effect in adults is an increased risk of stomach bleeds but that affects only one in 2,000 and is hardly ever fatal at low doses, said Peter Elwood of Cardiff University, who has been studying aspirin for almost 40 years.
According to Prof Rothwell, who has been on low-dose aspirin for four years, the results show that almost anyone in middle age would benefit on balance from taking aspirin in low daily doses (75mg a day, compared to 300mg as a painkiller).
“These new results do not mean that all adults should immediately start taking aspirin, but they do demonstrate major new benefits that have not previously been factored into guideline recommendations,” said Prof Rothwell.
Aspirin probably helps to prevent cancer by enhancing the ability of cells to repair damage to DNA, said Prof Elwood.
Although Bayer retains an aspirin business, the company lost its Aspirin trademark in many parts of the world, including the US and UK, after the first world war.
“No one is prepared to give a figure for the market size because there is so much generic aspirin, particularly in China,” said Nick Henderson, of the Aspirin Foundation, an industry body.
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