An Aspirin A Day May Lower Cancer Deaths

Mind Your Body — 16 December 2010

Excerpts from Article:

"A daily dose of aspirin could reduce the risk of dying from cancer, according to a new study published in the online edition of the medical journal, The Lancet, last week..."

"...But four out of five oncologists interviewed by Mind Your Body urged caution because of the propensity of aspirin to cause bleeds in the gastrointestinal tract and brain."

"...could not recommend the routine use of aspirin in the general population until more work has been done to weigh its benefits against its potential side effects..."

"Aspirin belongs to a class of drugs called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that reduce inflammation in the body. For relief for fever and pain such as headaches, it is usually taken at doses of 325 to 1000mg."

"...daily dose of more than 500mg of aspirin is associated with the highest risk of stomach ulcer and bleeding, the most dangerous side effects..."

"...side effects are greatly lessened at doses of 75mg, which is the amount taken daily by many heart patients to reduce the risk of blood clots..."

"...aspirin reduced inflammation in the gut which results in pre-cancerous polyps. These are the non-cancerous growths that develop from the cells lining the inside of the colon or rectum, which tend to become cancerous over a long time..."

"...However, the Lancet study was not intended to and did not show if aspirin reduced the number of polyps, said Dr Peter Ang, consultant medical oncologist at the OncoCare Cancer Centre."

"...study did not show if aspirin could prevent someone from getting cancer altogether…..it showed a reduced chance of dying from it."

"..to change clinical practice of doctors worldwide…they need to be convinced, beyond doubt, that treating healthy individual with aspirin will yield more benefits than harm."