Daily aspirin slashes prostate cancer risk by a third

A low dose of aspirin, 75mg tablet each day, confers protective effect against the malignancy, researchers say.

"Aspirin is a widely used and inexpensive medication. The potential public health implications of an effective preventive agent for prostate cancer are considerable," researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, said.

For the purpose of the study, researchers examined 1,943 volunteers of a similar age. While 1,001 were diagnosed for prostate cancer, 942 volunteers were cancer-free.

All participants were required to fill up questionnaires about general well being, eating habits and exercise habits. Details of their aspirin use, if any, were also gathered.

Comparisons between two groups revealed that cancer-free volunteers were using aspirin more often than volunteers diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Men who had used aspirin in the past one year were 21 percent less likely to develop a prostate tumor, researchers said.

The risk of developing prostate cancer dropped by 24 percent for men who took aspirin for five or more years, researchers found.

The biggest protective effect against the prostate tumor was, however, seen among men who took a regular daily dose of aspirin.

A 75mg aspirin tablet each day slashed the chances of developing prostate cancer by 29 percent, researchers found.

How aspirin confers protective benefits
Though the exact reason behind how aspirin confers protective benefits against prostate tumors is not clear, researchers believe the drug dampens the effects of two particular enzymes that stimulate inflammation in the prostate.

"The anti-cancer effects are thought to occur primarily-through the direct inhibition-of enzymes called PTGS1 and PTGS2," study’s lead researcher, Dr Janet Stanford, from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle, Washington, said.

Not all anti-inflammatory drugs confer similar benefits
Despite inflammation playing a crucial role in the onset of the disease, other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen failed to confer similar benefits, researchers highlighted.

Anti-inflammatory drugs work by inhibiting cell proliferation, inducing the self-destruction of malignant cells, and reducing the spread of tumors.

"The significant inverse association between prostate cancer risk and use of aspirin that we observed provides additional support for the role of inflammation in the development of this cancer” Stanford averred.

"If aspirin delays the onset or progression of prostate cancer through its anti-inflammatory activities, this may offer another agent to be tested in prevention trials," Stanford added.

The findings of the study are reported in the current issue of the 'American Journal of Epidemiology.'