Daily aspirin 'prevents and possibly treats cancer'

Taking a low dose of aspirin every day can prevent and possibly even treat cancer, fresh evidence suggests. The three new studies published by The Lancet add to mounting evidence of the drug's anti-cancer effects. Many people already take daily aspirin as a heart drug. But experts warn that there is still not enough proof to recommend it to prevent cancer cases and deaths and warn that the drug can cause dangerous side effects like stomach bleeds. Prof Peter Rothwell, from Oxford University, and colleagues, who carried out the latest work, had already linked aspirin with a lower risk of certain cancers, particularly bowel cancer. But their previous work suggested people needed to take the drug for about 10 years to get any protection. Now the same experts believe the protective effect occurs much sooner - within three to five years - based on a new analysis of data from 51 trials involving more than 77,000 patients. And aspirin appears not only to reduce the risk of developing many different cancers in the first place, but may also stop cancers spreading around the body. The trials were designed to compare aspirin with no treatment for the prevention of heart disease. But when Prof Rothwell's team examined how many of the participants developed and died from cancer, they found this was also related to aspirin use.