The humble painkiller aspirin cuts the risk of mouth, throat and oesophagal cancers by two-thirds, Italian researchers have revealed. The century-old 鈥渨onder drug鈥� is already known to protect against heart attacks, stroke and arthritis.
Cristina Bosetti and colleagues at the Institute of Pharmacological Research in Milan found that people taking aspirin at least once a week for five years or more had their risk of the cancers slashed.
鈥淭his is the first quantitative evidence that taking aspirin may reduce the risk of developing cancers in what we call the aerodigestive tract, connecting the mouth and the stomach,鈥� she said.
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Richard Sullivan, head of clinical programmes at Cancer Research UK, praised the observational study, adding that aspirin was 鈥渙ne of the greatest finds in the history of drug discovery鈥�. However, he does not recommend that people start taking aspirin as a preventative measure until full trials are conducted.
Inflammation and growth
Bosetti and her team combined and re-analysed data from three separate studies comparing cancer patients with controls.
鈥淲e think that aspirin may take effect by acting on an enzyme called cyclooxegenase-2, which has a role both in inflammation and the process of cancer growth,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur results further extend our knowledge of the health benefits of this remarkable drug and suggest that taking it could become an important way of protecting ourselves against cancer.鈥�
Sullivan says aerodigestive cancers are notoriously difficult to cure and that there are no particularly promising treatments on the horizon. 鈥淯nless they are caught very early, you invariably succumb,鈥� he told 快猫短视频.
Prevention is certainly better than cure, he says. But people at higher risk of aerodigestive cancers 鈥� smokers and drinkers 鈥� are also at higher risk of gastric ulcers, Sullivan warns. This could prevent the use of aspirin, which can irritate the stomach.
Journal reference: British Journal of Cancer (vol 88, p 672)