Financial Express, By Abantika Ghosh, New Delhi: The humble aspirin’s
case for being a wonder drug just got stronger. Three studies published in the latest issues of The Lancet show the analgesic to have anti-cancer properties, along with a role in prevention of distant metastasis (spread from one part of the body to another) of the disease. The studies build a case for inclusion of the drug in cancer treatment protocol. Because of its blood-thinning quality, aspirin is already recommended for cardiovascular patients. One of the new studies
examined patient data from 51 long-term randomised controlled trials involving 77,549 patients. Researchers at the University of Oxford found that after three years of daily aspirin use, the risk of developing cancer was reduced by almost 25 per cent when compared with a control group not taking aspirin. After five years, the risk of dying of cancer was reduced by 37 per cent among those taking aspirin. A second paper that analysed five large randomised controlled studies in Britain found that over six and a half years on average, daily aspirin use reduced the risk of metastatic cancer by 36 per cent and risk of adenocarcinomas — common solid cancers including colon, lung and prostate cancer — by 46 per cent. Daily aspirin use also reduced the risk of progressing to metastatic disease, particularly in patients with colorectal cancer, the studies reported. Source: Financial Express
