More and more research points to the benefits of incorporating aspirin into a cancer treatment plan. A new scientific analysis of the results of such research has set a simple question for scientists: “Is it time to share the results with patients and make a decision together?”.
Peter Elwood, of the Cochrane Institute of Primary Health Care and Public Health at the University of Cardiff in the UK, is the lead researcher in the new project, which was published in the journal “Biochemistry”.
In 2012, three studies published in the journal “The Lancet” suggested that taking aspirin daily could prevent a series of cancers in middle-aged people.
In addition, last year, another study revealed that aspirin increases the effectiveness of anticancer drugs in mice.
In this context, Elwood and the team began exploring the benefits of aspirin in treating cancer.
Aspirin improves the prognosis by 20-30 percent.
In order to investigate the role of aspirin in the treatment of cancer, Elwood and colleagues looked at 71 studies that summarized the 120,000 patients who had cancer and took aspirin in addition to the main treatment.
Two independent experts assessed the acceptability of the studies and examined the number of deaths associated with cancer, the incidence of metastases and mortality from other causes among people in the aspirin group.
Then the researchers compared these data with data of about 400,000 people who did not take the drug.
Of the studies included in the analysis, 29 cases examined were associated with colorectal cancer. In addition, researchers focused on breast cancer, which was present in 14 studies, and prostate cancer, which was the subject of research in 16 scientific papers.
In general, the analysis showed that the chances of survival in the diagnosis of cancer were 20-30 percent more among people who took aspirin compared with those who did not.
Aspirin, as can be seen, can reduce the risk of death from colon cancer by 25%, the risk of breast cancer, mortality by 20 percent, and the risk of dying from prostate cancer by 15 percent.
Can patients have access to evidence?
The authors admit some limitations to reviewing. For example, they write that the studies in question are purely observational, and some of them did not find any advantages for taking aspirin.
However, Elwood and his colleagues conclude that the results "deserve widespread discussion as to whether this is sufficient to justify a recommendation for low-dose therapeutic aspirin" in the treatment of cancer.
"Evidence of further research is urgently needed, and patients should be strongly encouraged to participate in relevant studies," says the lead author of the study. "All patients should consult with their doctor before starting a new medication," the researcher added.
The use of aspirin for different types of cancer of other glands indicates a high probability of its effectiveness in thyroid cancer.