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Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Aspirin Reduces Colorectal Cancer Risk with Regular,
Long-Term Use
Men using aspirin regularly experienced a
significantly lower risk
 Jan. 22, 2008 The regular, long-term use of
aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduces the
risk associated with colorectal cancer, according to a study published
in Gastroenterology. However, the use of aspirin to stop or prevent
(chemoprevention) colorectal cancer may require using the drug at doses
that are higher than recommended over a long period of time, which may
cause serious side effects including gastrointestinal bleeding.
Chemoprevention is the use of chemical compounds to
prevent, stop, or reverse the development of cancer. NSAIDs are often
used to fight colon cancer.
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While the results of our study show that aspirin
should not currently be recommended for the chemoprevention of
colorectal cancer in a healthy population, there is a need for further
studies to help identify for which patients the potential benefits
outweigh the risks, according to Andrew T. Chan, MD, MPH, Massachusetts
General Hospital and lead author of the study. We also need to improve
our understanding of how aspirin works to prevent and inhibit the
formation of colorectal cancer.
Study participants were enrolled in the Health
Professionals Follow-up Study, a large prospective cohort study which
has provided detailed and updated information on aspirin use.
Researchers found that men who used aspirin
regularly experienced a significantly lower risk of colorectal cancer,
including distal colon cancer, proximal colon cancer and rectal cancer,
even after controlling for other risk factors.
The reduction in risk was seen in both early (stage
I/II) and advanced (stage III/IV) colorectal cancers. There were 975
documented cases of colorectal cancer over 761,757 person-years, among
the 47,636 eligible men.
Participants who reported regular aspirin use,
equal to or more than twice a week, were older, more likely to have
smoked, used multivitamins and folate, and consumed slightly more
alcohol.
In an average-risk population of men, results
showed that the benefit of aspirin was not apparent until after more
than five years of use.
The greatest reduction in risk was observed at
cumulative doses of more than 14 standard tablets (325 mg) per week,
which is higher than normally recommended. The benefit of aspirin use
appears to diminish less than four years after stopping use and is not
evident after four to five years of discontinued use.
The Health Professionals Follow-up Study has been
conducted on 51,529 U.S. male dentists, optometrists, osteopaths,
podiatrists, pharmacists and veterinarians, who returned a mailed health
questionnaire in 1986. The questionnaire included questions about diet,
aspirin use and medical diagnoses, including cancer. The biennial
questionnaires ask for updated information including cancer diagnoses
and aspirin use.
The participants were between 40 and 75 years of
age when the study began.
This year an estimated 147,000 Americans will be
diagnosed with colorectal cancer and 56,500 will die from this disease,
with an approximate 1-in-18 lifetime probability of developing
colorectal cancer.
More about Chemoprevention
Ohio State
University Extension Fact Sheet
Chemoprevention - The Answer to Cancer?
About the AGA Institute
The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA)
is dedicated to the mission of advancing the science and practice of
gastroenterology. Founded in 1897, the AGA is one of the oldest
medical-specialty societies in the U.S. Comprised of two non-profit
organizations the AGA and the AGA Institute our more than 16,000
members include physicians and scientists who research, diagnose and
treat disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. The AGA, a
501(c6) organization, administers all membership and public policy
activities, while the AGA Institute, a 501(c3) organization, runs the
organizations practice, research and educational programs. On a monthly
basis, the AGA Institute publishes two highly respected journals,
Gastroenterology and Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The
organization's annual meeting is Digestive Disease Weekฎ, which is held
each May and is the largest international gathering of physicians,
researchers and academics in the fields of gastroenterology, hepatology,
endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery. For more information, please
visit
www.gastro.org.
About Gastroenterology
Gastroenterology, the official journal of the AGA
Institute, is the most prominent scientific journal in the specialty and
is in the top 1 percent of indexed medical journals internationally. The
journal publishes clinical and basic science studies of all aspects of
the digestive system, including the liver and pancreas, as well as
nutrition. The journal is abstracted and indexed in Biological
Abstracts, CABS, Chemical Abstracts, Current Contents, Excerpta Medica,
Index Medicus, Nutrition Abstracts and Science Citation Index. For more
information, visit
www.gastrojournal.org.
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