Research Shows Aspirin Prevents Colon Cancer Progression by Strengthening Immune Response

▲ Aspirin

Research has shown that aspirin, which many people take for its anti-inflammatory and blood-thinning effects, prevents the development and progression of colon cancer by targeting cancer cells in the immune system and strengthening the immune response.

On the 23rd, the team of Dr. Marco Scarpa at the University of Padova, Italy, discovered this fact by studying the effect of long-term aspirin use on colon cancer using tissue samples from 230 colon cancer surgery patients in the Cancer Society America (ACS). Academic journal Cancer It was published.

“Aspirin is largely absorbed in the large intestine through passive diffusion,” said Dr. Scarpa. swell.”

Several research results have shown that aspirin, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, prevents various cancers.

Taking aspirin daily for a long time is also known to reduce the incidence and mortality rate of colon cancer, but the exact mechanism of action has not been revealed.

The research team explained that in this study they analyzed the effect of aspirin on the tumor microenvironment, systemic immunity, and healthy mucosa around the cancer using tissue samples from colon cancer surgery patients.

They collected tissue samples from 238 patients who underwent colon cancer surgery between 2015 and 2019, compared tissue differences between long-term aspirin users (12%) and non-users, and they identified genes that appear when colon cancer cells are exposed to aspirin. . Analyzed, etc.

As a result, tissue samples from long-term aspirin users showed less cancer metastases to the lymph glands and a higher degree of tumor infiltration by immune cells compared to non-aspirin users.

In addition, experiments in which colon cancer cells were exposed to aspirin showed increased expression of the CD80 protein gene, which detects the presence of tumor-related proteins in certain immune cells and alerts other immune cells.

The research team also explained that aspirin users showed a higher CD80 expression level in healthy rectal mucosal tissue than non-users, suggesting that aspirin helps the immune system’s tumor investigation function.

Dr. Scarpa said, “The amount of aspirin absorbed can be very different depending on the location in the colon. at an appropriate dose and it is effective.” “It has to be done,” he said.

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