Daily Aspirin May Prevent Some Colon Cancers

Berlin, Germany (AHN) – Taking aspirin daily could prevent colon cancer in people with certain genetic predisposition to the disease, scientists said at a cancer conference in Germany this week.

The condition is known as Lynch syndrome, which is responsible for about 5 percent of all colon cancers, according to a statement released at the European Cancer Organization and European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Berlin, Germany.

Professor John Burn, from the Institute of Human Genetics at Newcastle University, and a lead author of the study, said taking aspirin may be a simple way of controlling cancer stem cells that form malignant tumors.

The study involved 1,071 carriers of Lynch syndrome who were given daily doses of 600 milligrams of aspirin. Up to 10 years after the trial began, only about six participants were diagnosed with colon cancer, compared with 16 people taking placebos.

Burns and his colleagues will next begin a trial using lower doses of aspirin.

Related posts:

1. Curry Could Prevent Recurrence Of Head And Neck Cancers
2. Scientists Find Common Gene In Deadly Skin Cancers
3. U.S. Researchers Find Childhood Brain Cancer Survivors Face Lifetime of Cognitive Problems
4. Scientists Closer To Developing Cancer Vaccine Using Stem Cells
5. Weight Gain Influences Prostate Cancer Risk