Cancer patients could increase their chances of survival by 20-30% with a low daily dose of aspirin per day, according to a new meta-analysis.
One pill of aspirin per day could improve the chances of survival of cancer patients, reveals a new metanalysis that has reviewed 71 medical studies. Published in the journal Plos One, the study looked at the survival of 120,000 cancer patients who took aspirin (compared to 400,000 patients who did not).
Research shows that at any time after some cancers were diagnosed, the proportion of patients who were still alive was 20-30% higher among those taking this drug. The spread of cancer to other parts of the body was also significantly reduced in patients on aspirin.
“The use of low-dose aspirin as a preventative treatment for heart disease, stroke and cancer is well established, but there is now evidence that the drug may also play an important role in the further treatment of cancer.” says Peter Elwood, professor at Cardiff University and lead author of the study.
Aspirin would be beneficial for all cancers
Almost half of the studies included in the review involved patients with bowel cancer, and most of the remaining studies involved patients with breast or prostate cancer. Very few studies have been done in patients with other less common cancers, but overall, the pooled data for all cancers suggest that aspirin is beneficial.
“Cancer patients should be given the evidence now available and be helped to judge for themselves the risk-benefit balance of a low daily dose of aspirin. There is an urgent need for solid evidence from other studies “, encourages Professor Elwood.
Low risk of stomach bleeding
In this study, the risk of bleeding, a possible side effect of aspirin, was examined carefully. Prof. Elwood’s team requested information about the bleeding from at least one author of each of the 71 reports studied and got 31 responses.
According to the observations of British scientists, very few patients have had severe bleeding. The proportion of patients taking aspirin who had “severe” stomach bleeding was not greater than the proportion of patients not taking aspirin who had spontaneous stomach bleeding for other causes. than aspirin.
In two studies, a very small number of fatal stomach bleeds occurred, but again, the proportion was not higher in patients on aspirin than in others.
“There is an urgent need for more serious evidence”
However, the conclusions of the study have some limitations. This is because these data do not come from randomized trials designed to test aspirin and cancer, but from statistical analyzes of patients who took aspirin for reasons other than cancer treatment.
In addition, the evidence is not entirely consistent and some studies have failed to identify benefits attributable to aspirin. “There is therefore an urgent need to obtain more serious evidence, and patients should be strongly encouraged to participate in the research,” warns Professor Elwood.
In the meantime, the scientist recalls that “all patients must consult their doctor before starting a new treatment”.
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