Aspirin may prevent cancer polyps: Study

Cardiff, March 29- A new study suggests that aspirin may help combat cancerdefine but at the same time it is dicey to conduct randomized controlled trials.

A polyp is an abnormal growth of tissue shooting from any mucous membrane. Polyps are commonly found in the colondefine, stomach, nose, sinusdefine, urinary bladderdefine, uterusdefine cervix and small intestinedefine.

The study was published in the Lancet and its main authors include Professor Peter Elwood, University of Cardiff, and Dr Alison Gallagher, Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health at the University of Ulster.

Study researchers stated that there is a good deal of documented evidence that proves aspirin has several benefits. There is no denying of the fact that aspirin can work successfully to treat certain problems but it has many side effects also such as bleeding which cannot be overlooked.

Aspirin is commonly used as an analgesic (to relieve minor aches and pains), an antipyretic (to reduce fever) and an anti-inflammatory medication.
Aspirin has an "anti-clotting" effect and is used in low doses to prevent heart attacks, strokes and blood clot formation in people at high risk for developing blood clots.

Side effects of aspirin include gastrointestinal ulcers, stomach bleeding, tinnitus and risk of Reye's syndrome (in children and adolescents).

A previous study that evaluated development of polyps in the colon or rectumdefine prior to the development of colorectal cancerdefine is amongst the evidences cited by the study report.

As per this study, aspirin can cut down the risk of recurrence of polyps or development of new polyps and its effect amplifies in the later stages of polyp formation.

Researchers also raised their concern regarding the doubt about the ideal dose of aspirin that can be safely administered to the patients because one of the earlier studies claimed that 81 mg a day is an ideal dose whereas other concluded 300 mg or more a day can work effectively and safely.

Another study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2003 indicated that one aspirin a day works effectively in preventing precancerous polyps in patients at increased risk for colorectal cancer.

Senior author of the study, Richard Schilsky, Professor in Medicine at the University and chairman of Cancer and Leukemia Group B said, “Aspirin had a significant protective effect… It clearly reduced the formation of polyps in this study of high-risk individuals, which is good news because it provides a new way to lower the risk of recurrence in patients who have had colon cancer. This suggests that aspirin and similar anti-inflammatory drugs may help prevent this disease in average-risk individuals.”

The researchers of the current study concluded that an in-depth investigation into good and bad effects of aspirin should be initiated with an aim to develop safer versions of the drug.