Aspirin May Reduce Cancer Risk and Even Keep Cancer from Spreading

Low-dose aspirin may reduce the risk of cancer, including breast cancer,  and may even keep it from spreading, according to two articles published in the journal Lancet.    Previous research has shown that aspirin benefits those with both hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer and those with hormone-receptor-negative, such as triple-negative.

Some key points:

• The benefits of aspirin may come within three years of regular usage, not after ten years, as had previously been thought.
• The results were strongest for colorectal and esophageal cancer and less pronounced for breast cancer.
• Daily aspirin usage was linked to a 35 percent reduction in death in patients with solid tumors

• The risks of gastrointestinal bleeding—a significant concern associated with regular aspirin use—diminished over time.
• Testing was done with baby aspirin, and docs say the cheap variety work as well as the more expensive.
If you have any history of gastrointestinal bleeding, check with your doctor before taking aspirin, as even l0w-dose aspirin can be dangerous.  I have a history of ulcers and even mild aspirin irritates my stomach.  According to Eric Jacobs, PhD, of the American Cancer Society, quoted in  Medpage Today it is important to weigh the risks against the benefits:

Eric Jacobs, PhD, a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society, characterized the analyses as "important new evidence that long-term daily aspirin, even at low doses, may lower the risk of developing cancer." Even so, the decision to initiate regular aspirin use should be individualized after a discussion between patient and physician, he said. 

"Because these results are new, it will take time for the broader scientific community to evaluate the data in the context of existing knowledge and to consider whether the clinical guidelines should be changed ... Clinical guidelines require a systematic analysis of for whom the benefits of aspirin use are likely to outweigh the risks."

For more coverage on this, check The New York Times, Medical News Today, Medical News Today, and ABC News.