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Hope for colon cancer epidemic as study finds common pill taken every day by millions could prevent disease
An aspirin-a-day may slash the risk of colon cancer, a major study suggests.
Those who took the anti-inflammatory pill were a third less likely to develop the killer disease in heir lifetime than those who didn't.
The drug even worked for the unhealthiest people, who smoked, drank alcohol and were obese, all of which put them at risk of colon cancer.
It's thought that aspirin prevents colon cancer by blocking the formation of polyps, which can become cancerous, and reducing enzymes shown to prevent tumor growth.
The team believes the results could lead to more doctors recommending aspirin to stave off colorectal cancer, which has reached epidemic levels in young Americans.
Researchers at Mass General Brigham found that taking aspirin regularly lowered the risk of colorectal cancer by up to 40 percent
The above grap shows the percent of participants who went on to develop colorectal cancer, including those who did and did not take aspirin
Dr Daniel Sikavi, lead study author and gastroenterologist at Mass General Brigham, said: 'Our results show that aspirin can proportionally lower the markedly elevated risk in those with multiple risk factors for colorectal cancer.'
'In contrast, those with a healthier lifestyle have a lower baseline risk of colorectal cancer, and, therefore, their benefit from aspirin was still evident, albeit less pronounced.'
The US Preventive Services Task Force nearly recommended all adults ages 50 to 59 - the most at risk for colorectal cancer - take a low dose of aspirin every day to ward off the disease.
However, the nine-cent drug been linked to dangerous internal bleeding, which has put many doctors off from recommending it for regular use.
Colon cancer is one of the deadliest forms of the disease, as its symptoms like rectal bleeding are often confused for more benign issues, making prevention a priority. The disease is expected to kill over 50,000 Americans this year, making it the second-deadliest form of the disease, behind lung cancer.
For the latest study, researchers from Mass General Brigham Hospital in Boston recruited 100,000 adults ages and asked half to take regular daily or weekly doses of aspirin.
The researchers recruited 107,655 men and women from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and followed up with them over 30 years. The average participant age was 49.
The participants filled out questionnaires about their lifestyle habits, such as diet, exercise, drinking, and smoking.
Of those on the drug, one group took two regular-strength pills per week or one low-dose pill a day.
Those who took aspirin regularly had either two or more standard pills per week (325 mg) or one low-dose pill (81 mg) per day.
Among those who took aspirin regularly, 1.98 percent developed colorectal cancer compared to 2.95 percent who did not take the medication.
After adjusting for factors like family history, this adds up to a 33 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer for the aspirin group, the team said.
And the benefits were more pronounced in those who reported unhealthy lifestyle habits - these participants taking aspirin had a 38 percent lower risk of developing the disease than unhealthy participants who did not take aspirin.
However, those with healthier lifestyles benefited least from aspirin, with a seven percent reduced risk compared to those who did not take the pills.
The team said that these results could lead to doctors 'more strongly' recommending aspirin to patients leading unhealthy lifestyles.
The findings come amid a worrying rise of colorectal cancer in Americans under 50
Dr Andrew Chan, study co-senior author and Director of Epidemiology for the Mass General Cancer Center, said: 'Aspirin likely prevents colorectal cancer through multiple mechanisms.'
For example, the team believes that aspirin reduces the production of prostaglandins, inflammatory proteins that have been shown to promote the growth of cancer cells.
Colon cancer tumors have been shown to have elevated levels of the enzyme COX-2, which make inflammatory proteins called prostaglandins.
These have been shown to promote the growth of colorectal cancer cells, and chronic inflammation is also a primary risk factor for colorectal cancer.
Aspirin has also been shown to lower the risk of colorectal adenomas, a type of polyp, or abnormal growth than can turn into cancerous colon tumors.
The new research has several limitations, such as focusing mostly on white healthcare professionals. The data on lifestyle factors was also self-reported, leading to potential bias.
The study was published Thursday in JAMA Oncology.