Aspirin Drug Cuts Cancer Deaths By Half

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A daily aspirin tablet costing little more than a penny could prove to be a potent treatment for cancer.

 

Research has shown for the first time that the drug cuts the risk of cancer spreading around the body by 36%. And deaths due to cancer were reduced by around a half.

 

Professor Peter Rothwell, of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, said the new finding is highly significant.

 

He told Sky News: "If you have cancer, your main risk of dying is from that spread rather than from the growth of the cancer itself.

 

"So if you find a treatment that reduces the spread it has a real potential as an additional treatment for people with cancer."

 

New cancer drugs typically cost several thousand pounds a month. But a bottle of 100 75mg aspirin tablets can be bought for as little as £1.35.

 

Professor Rothwell said further trials of aspirin as a treatment for cancer are urgently needed.

The research in The Lancet medical journal also underlined the benefits of taking aspirin to prevent cancer. The drug reduced the risk of developing disease by around a quarter after just three years.

 

 

Other experts have warned against healthy people taking the drug because it increases the risk of serious bleeding in the stomach and brain.

 

But the research found the risk of bleeding diminished after three years of treatment.

 

Dr Kat Arney, of Cancer Research UK, said there is growing evidence that people in their 50s and 60s can reduce their risk of the disease by taking low dose aspirin.

 

"But the risk of bleeding may be higher in older people so that's not a good idea," she said.

 

"Aspirin is not for everyone. It depends on how old you are and your history of other diseases. Talk to your GP about whether aspirin would be suitable."

 

Audrey Francis has been taking daily aspirin for several years.

 

She took part in a study at Newcastle University that showed the drug reduced the risk of bowel cancer in patients who are genetically predisposed to the disease.

 

She said: "I'm one of the lucky ones and responding to the aspirin.

 

"For however long that may be I have to be grateful, because it's 17 years since I was first diagnosed with cancer. At the time they did not know whether I would have three months, six months or what."

 

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16192796