Daily Aspirin could reduce bowel cancer risks

Researchers at the City of Hope recently discovered that if taken in the correct dosage, a daily dose of aspirin could be used as a treatment for bowel cancer. The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), which is famously known for acting as a pain reliever, has been said to prevent the recurrence of the disease and reduce tumour growth. In aid to prevent the initiation of dangerous side effects and still be beneficial, the researchers need to assess the correct daily dosage.

The researchers conducted a study using mathematical modelling and mouse models to correspond with the average aspirin dose taken by people in Europe as well as the United States, in clinical trials. The results portrayed that cell death rates increased as the aspirin dosage increased, while the division rates of cells decreased, leading to a likelihood of tumour cells dying. The study was published in the ‘Carcinogenesis’ journal.

Chair of the Department of Molecular Diagnostics, Translational Oncology and Therapeutics at City of Hope and Senior Author of a new study, Ajay Goel, Ph.d, stated: “Some might say aspirin is a miracle drug because of its potential to prevent diseases that result from chronic inflammation such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and arthritis. The reason aspirin isn’t currently being used to prevent these diseases is because taking too much of any anti-inflammatory eats at the stomach’s mucus lining and causes gastrointestinal and other problems. We are getting closer to discovering the right amount of daily aspirin needed to treat and prevent colorectal cancer, without causing scary side effects. We are now working with some of the people conducting those human clinical trials to analyse data and use mathematical modelling. This process adds a layer of confidence to the findings and guides future human trial designs adding that colorectal cancer is among the top 5 cancers diagnosed every year.