Aspirin would not only be effective in prevention. In patients suffering from digestive cancer, this anti-inflammatory drug doubles the chances of survival.
Aspirin would prolong the life of patients with digestive cancer (stomach, esophagus, liver, pancreas, colon-rectum), reveals a study presented this Monday at the European Cancer Congress in Vienna (Austria).
Until now, we knew that the benefit of aspirin was mainly preventive. Many studies have indeed shown that daily intake of aspirin reduces the risk of colorectal cancer as well as digestive cancers. This recent work, carried out by researchers at the University of Leiden (Netherlands), is the first to focus on patients suffering from tumors located in different parts of the body and to conclude on an increase in life expectancy.
Nearly 14,000 patients followed
To carry out this study, Dutch researchers followed more than 13,700 patients diagnosed with cancer between 1998 and 2011. The organs most affected by tumors were the colon, rectum and esophagus. By collecting health data from these participants, scientists were able to compare patients who received aspirin and those who did not.
In total, 30% of patients used aspirin before their cancer was diagnosed, over 8% used it after it was diagnosed, and over 60% never took it.
In patients with the same cancer, those who took aspirin after their diagnosis are twice as likely to survive as others. According to the authors, the beneficial effect of aspirin is linked to its antiplatelet properties. Indeed, they speculate that by preventing the formation of clots, aspirin allows the immune system to eliminate tumor cells circulating in the blood vessels. These would use the blood clots to hide and escape the white blood cells.
A benefit with side effects
“Medical research is focusing more and more on personalized medicine,” notes Dr Martine Frouws, co-responsible for this work. But this medicine is expensive and is useful only in small groups of patients. We believe that our work shows just the opposite. It demonstrates the considerable benefit of an inexpensive drug that is well known and readily available to a large number of patients. “
At this time, the appropriate and optimal dose has not yet been determined. The statute of limitations either. A double-blind, randomized trial is also underway to examine the effect of daily intake of 80 mg of aspirin on survival in elderly patients with colon cancer.
However, this nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug is not a trivial product. Regular intake of aspirin increases the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, ulcers or anemia. Thus, longer studies will be needed to assess the benefit / risk for patients.
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