Latest Health News - Aspirin Reduces Risk Of Colon Cancer By 74%The latest news in colon cancer shows that the risk of having colon cancer will decrease by 74% if an individual will take Aspirin everyday for at least five years with the full dosage of 300 mgs. This was the result of latest studies conducted by experts in the field. Enrico Flossman, MRCP; Peter M. Rothwell, MD, PhD; and colleagues researching at the University of Oxford studied the effects of Aspirin by combining data from two large clinical trials. These trials were not, however, designed specifically to study colon cancer. Nonetheless, the two large clinical trials suggest that a full-dose of aspirin, 300 mgs, taken every day for at least five years to a maximum of ten years will decrease the risk of individuals by 74% in developing colon cancer after a period of 10 to 14 years. “Even if there was a significant decrease of 74% for colorectal cancer high-risk individuals, the benefits for low-risk individuals remain relatively small”, Flossman and his colleagues added. This recent discovery is, however, contradictory to the U.S. research team that said colon cancer risk for individuals will not be decreased even in the event of taking aspirin for long periods of time. Flossman and colleagues added that randomized trials show that a regular 300 milligram dose of aspirin taken daily in five years seems to be primarily effective in the prevention of colorectal cancer, with latency of about ten (10) years or so. Some says the contradiction of the two findings is due to the differences of aspirin doses analyzed against the risk of colorectal cancer. Experts said that the U.S. studies possibly have found no link between taking aspirin and colorectal cancer because they looked at doses of 162.5 milligrams while the others looked at doses of 50 milligrams. Aspirin was also found to be a preventative measure for individuals who are at high-risk in getting myocardial infarctions or heart attacks, but it can also have life threatening side effects like developing gastrointestinal perforations. Nobody should take aspirin regularly, more so for individuals who have undiagnosed bleeding disorders such as Hemophilia. Usually, physicians recommend low doses of aspirin to be an effective preventive measure for individuals at risk of getting heart-attacks. In America, greater than 50 million adults take aspirin in various doses regularly as a regimen in the prevention of developing heart attacks and strokes. The variance in doses range from 81 milligrams to 325 milligrams daily; the recommended daily dose continues to be a matter of debate. As Flossman and colleagues suggested, “Lower or less frequent doses of aspirin (less than 300 milligrams per day) might be less effective, but long–term follow–up of randomized trials of low–dose aspirin is needed”. According to the editorial by Andrew T. Chan in the May 12 issue of The Lancet, MD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, "These findings are not sufficient to warrant a recommendation for the general population to use aspirin for cancer prevention," Chan reiterated. "More work is needed to characterize those for whom the potential benefits of aspirin outweigh the hazards of its use." "Ultimately, the hope is that this research will lead to better understanding of colon cancer, which could lead to therapies that could have the benefits of aspirin, but fewer of the side effects," Chan concluded. |