Aspirin may Reduce Colorectal Cancer Risk

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Women taking two or more aspirin weekly for more than 10 years significantly reduced their risk of colorectal cancer or benign tumors, according to a recent study.

Initiated in 1976, the Nurse's Health Study focuses on the major causes of disease and death in women. In a recent review of the report in which 82,911 women provided details of their medication habits for 20 years, the relationship between regular aspirin consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer was evaluated.

Over the 20 years, 962 cases of colorectal cancer were recorded. However, women who reported taking more than 14 aspirins a week for longer than 10 years had their risk reduced by 53 percent.

Andrew Chan, M.D., M.P.H., of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the paper's lead author says, "Our study did find a protective effect of long-term aspirin use on risk of invasive colorectal cancer but only at dosage levels considerably higher than those used to prevent cardiovascular disease."

The threat of severe gastrointestinal bleeding, a known side effect of aspirin, also increases as the dosage level increased, with bleeding occurring nearly twice as often in those taking the highest doses.

"Before we can make any recommendations about whether patients should take these medications to reduce their cancer risk, we're going to need additional studies that clarify the risks and benefits of such an approach," Dr. Chan says.

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SOURCE: The Journal of American Medical Association, 2005; 294:914-923