Does Aspirin Accelerate Cancer Progression? – Naturopathy & naturopathic specialist portal

—

Researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital at Harvard Medical School found in a clinical study that taking aspirin in people with cancer at an advanced age can increase the risk of the disease progressing more quickly and therefore death earlier. The research results were recently published in the “Journal of the National Cancer Institute” presented.

Aspirin appears to lower the risk of colon cancer

Previous studies have provided convincing evidence from clinical trials with middle-aged participants showing that aspirin intake can lower the risk of developing colon cancer (more information: Aspirin can be used to lower the risk of colon cancer). So far, however, there has been little information on how the intake of aspirin affects older patients who are already suffering from cancer.

To close this knowledge gap, the team carried out the current study, in which aspirin intake of over 19,114 participants from Australia and the USA over the age of 70 was evaluated. At the beginning of the study, the test subjects did not suffer from any cardiovascular diseases, dementias or physical disabilities. All participants were randomly given either low-dose aspirin or a placebo over a period of around five years.

Increased Risk of Death with Aspirin and Cancer?

As early as October 2018, the study results showed that there is a connection between aspirin intake and an increased risk of death if those affected suffer from cancer. The researchers have now published a comprehensive analysis of the findings.

Aspirin does not increase your risk of developing cancer

“We used this study as a more detailed study of the effects of aspirin on the development of Krebs as well as cancer-related death, “explains medicine professor Dr. Andrew T. Chan, the lead author of the study. During the course of the study, 981 participants who took aspirin developed cancer. In the placebo group, 952 people developed cancer. So there was no statistically significant difference between the groups for developing cancer.

Does aspirin promote metastasis?

However, it found that cancer patients in the aspirin group had a 19 percent higher risk than the placebo group of developing cancer that forms metastases. The risk of being diagnosed with advanced cancer was also 22 percent higher in the aspirin group than in the placebo group.

This carried over to the death risk. People in the aspirin group were at greater risk of dying during the follow-up period than people in the placebo group. “The risk of death was particularly high among aspirin users who were diagnosed with advanced solid cancer,” emphasizes Dr. Chan. This suggests that aspirin intake has an adverse effect on cancer growth – especially in older people who already have cancer.

Should the elderly be careful with aspirin?

“Although these results suggest that we should be careful about starting aspirin therapy in otherwise healthy older adults, this does not mean that people who are already taking aspirin should discontinue their aspirin therapy,” the study author concludes. This is especially true if those affected are young or middle-aged.

More studies needed

This is an observational study that does not reveal the causes of this association. So it is currently unclear why aspirin appears to have this effect. According to the researchers, further studies are necessary to clarify the situation. (vb)