April 23, 2024
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A new study suggests that aspirin may offer protective effects against colorectal cancer.
Taking low-dose aspirin long term may help prevent the development and progression of colorectal cancer, according to new research.
A study published this week in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, reveals that aspirin may offer protective effects against colorectal cancer by increasing the body's immune response against cancer cells.
Overall, rates of colorectal cancer have dropped since the mid-1980s due to increased awareness, screening and lifestyle changes. But colorectal cancer is the leading cause of death in young people under 50 in the United States, the causes of which are unclear but which may include smoking, obesity and physical inactivity, according to the National Cancer Institute.
About 106,590 new cases of colon cancer and about 46,220 new cases of rectal cancer will be diagnosed in 2024, the American Cancer Society predicts.
For the new study, researchers used tissue samples from 238 patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer between 2015 and 2019, 12% of whom were aspirin users. The study was conducted in Italy, mainly at the University Hospital of Padova.
Samples from aspirin users showed less cancer spread to the lymph nodes and more immune cells infiltrated tumors compared with the tissue samples from patients who did not use aspirin. By exposing colorectal cancer cells to aspirin, researchers found an "increased expression" of a specific protein on certain immune cells that increased the ability of the cells to alert other immune cells to the presence of dangerous, cancerous-producing proteins, according to the research.
“Our study shows a complementary mechanism of cancer prevention or therapy with aspirin besides its classical drug mechanism involving inhibition of inflammation,” principal researcher Dr. Marco Scarpa of the University of Padova said. “If we want to take advantage of its effects against colorectal cancer, we should think of how to guarantee that aspirin reaches the colorectal tract in adequate doses to be effective.”
