Aspirin Linked to Reducing Cancer Deaths

"Many Americans take aspirin to lower their risk of heart disease, but a new study suggests a remarkable added benefit, reporting that patients who took aspirin regularly for a period of several years were 21 percent less likely decades later to die of solid tumor cancers, including cancers of the stomach, esophagus and lung. Participants who had been assigned to the aspirin arms of the studies were 20 percent less likely after 20 years to have died of solid tumor cancers than those who had been in the comparison group taking dummy pills during the clinical trials, and their risk of gastrointestinal cancer death was 35 percent lower. The risk of lung cancer death was 30 percent lower, the risk of colorectal cancer death was 40 percent lower and the risk of esophageal cancer death was 60 percent lower, the study reported. The specific dose of aspirin taken did not seem to matter — most trials gave out low doses of 75 to 100 milligrams — but the participants in the longest lasting trials had the most drastic reductions in cancer death years later. While Dr. Jacobs said the study design was valid, relatively few women were included in the trials, making it difficult to generalize the results to women. Dr. Alan A. Arslan, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and environmental medicine at New York University School of Medicine, who did an observational study several years ago reporting that women who had taken aspirin regularly had a lower risk of ovarian cancer. (Aspirin Helps in Reducing Cancer Deaths, a Study Finds)"


The thought that a simple over the counter drug, like Tylenol, could decrease your likelihood of developing cancer is amazing. While aspirin’s do have some side affect one of them being stomach ulcers; the study had the patients taking the aspirin in small does, not large enough to do any damage. Also, while a study had been done that gave evidence that suggested women who took aspirin regularly were less likely to develop ovarian cancer; this study that suggests that aspirin may also lower your likelihood of developing cancer of the lung, stomach, or esophagus can not be said to account for women, too, since only a few were used in the study. However, if this study becomes proven fact then Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and Advil can expect some increases in sales.