Aspirin use may protect against colon cancer recurrence

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A new study shows that colon cancer patients who took regular aspirin had a lower chance of recurrence.
Previous work shows how aspirin can lower the risk of developing colon cancer and polyps. Now researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, reveal that aspirin can also help those who already have colon cancer.

A group of 846 patients were in a trial of two chemotherapy regimes after surgery for colon cancer. They were all interviewed about their use of medication and lifestyle. Regular aspirin use was reported by 75 patients. And 41 patients were on COX-2 inhibitors. They were interviewed halfway through their chemotherapy and again six months after it was finished.

Those on aspirin had a 55 per cent lower risk of recurrence and a 48 per cent lower risk of death compared to non-users. Those on COX-2 inhibitors had a 53 per cent reduction in recurrence risk. More research is now needed to see how aspirin exerts this anti-cancer effect. Studies are also underway to see what impact addition of COX-2 inhibitors to chemotherapy might have in patients with advanced colon cancer.

Source
American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting 17th May 2005