An anticoagulant is a substance that prevents coagulation; that is, it stops blood from clotting.
Findings of the study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology suggest that anti-clotting drugs could slow down the growth of cancer
-causing tumors.
"We found that taking an anticoagulant lowers the risk [of recurrence] by almost half," said Kevin S. Choe, MD, PhD, a radiation oncologist at the University of Chicago.
"Prostate cancer is very common among older men, the same people who have cardiovascular risk factors and often require anticoagulants to prevent a heart attack," said Choe. "So we wanted to see if there was an interaction between the two."
Study of 662 prostate cancer patients
The researchers studied 662 men with prostate cancer undergoing radiation treatment at the University of Chicago from 1988 to 2005.
Of these, 196 were taking aspirin, 58 were taking Coumadin, and 24 were on Plavix. Rest of the men did not take any anticoagulants.
After analysing the medical records of these patients, it was found that cancer appeared in only 9 percent of men who were taking the anti-clotting medication compared to 22 percent of others who were not taking such medication.
Rising levels of prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, are a sign of recurrence of cancer.
Researchers also noted that all the men in the study group were benefitted by the anti-clotting medications despite the fact whether they were receiving traditional external beam radiation therapy or radioactive seeds.
In external beam radiation therapy, radiation comes from a machine that targets the specific part of your body having cancerous tumors. Radioactive seeds involve cancer treatment with electromagnetic radiation without the use of machine.
Risks involved in anti-clotting medicines
Researchers have warned that these blood-thinning drugs could be harmful for health as these can trigger severe bleeding resulting in heavy blood loss.
“We need more data from a larger study before we can say with confidence that the benefits outweigh the risk of toxicity," said Choe.
Previous studies have shown that routine use of aspirin in otherwise healthy people can trigger severe gastrointestinal bleeds--loss of blood in the digestive tract, with no signs of reduced death rates.
Therefore, doctors should exercise extreme caution while prescribing the drug, especially to those with Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
Likewise, people should also be careful and not take the drug unless prescribed.
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