Aspirin relieves headaches, but also has more interesting medical benefits, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal Annals of Oncology. Its daily intake would reduce the risk of developing and dying from a number of cancers.
Researchers at Queen Mary University in London conducted a meta-analysis of 200 scientific studies examining the benefits and harms ofaspirin.
They found that taking aspirin every day would reduce the risk of developing bowel cancer by 30 to 40%.
“A daily dose of 75 mg of aspirin is enough to obtain its positive effects” explains Professor Jack Cuzick, co-author of the study.
Thanks to this drug, the rates of esophageal and stomach cancer were also reduced by 30% and deaths by 35% and 50% respectively.
Aspirin had less of an effect on other cancers, but still reduced the rate of lung and prostate cancer by 5% and 10%, and deaths from these two diseases by 15%. The researchers also noticed that aspirin had an impact on the rate of breast cancer by reducing it by 10%. This treatment also reduced the risk of a heart attack by 18%.
There are more pros than cons of taking aspirin every day
Researchers have estimated that 130,357 deaths from cancers could be prevented with theaspirin in 20 years and at 9,473 the number of fatal heart attacks.
In contrast, taking aspirin daily is believed to cause just under 18,000 deaths, mainly due to internal bleeding and stroke, two of the main side effects of taking this medication regularly.
“If there are serious side effects that cannot be ignored, takeaspirin everyday seems to be the most important thing we can do to reduce cancer after quitting smoking and reduce obesity, ”says Professor Jack Cuzick.
“But no one should take aspirin every day without first consulting their general practitioner,” he emphasizes.
“Before aspirin is recommended for cancer prevention, we must answer important questions about the side effects of this drug and set up clinical trials” concludes the researcher.
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