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London, July 4th
Patients with a wide range of cancers, taking aspirin as part of their treatment, could help reduce their risk of death by 20%, a major review of existing research has suggested.
Academics at Cardiff University performed a systematic review of 118 published observational studies in patients with 18 different cancers.
They pooled the results and found that out of a total of nearly 250,000 cancer patients, who reported taking aspirin, it was associated with an almost 20% reduction in cancer deaths.
The review said the body of evidence available on its efficacy and safety “supports its use” as a complementary treatment in a wide range of cancers “and patients should be informed.
Their review is published in the open access journal ecancermedicalscience.
“In recent years, my research team and I have been struck by the actions of aspirin on biological mechanisms related to cancer – and these appear to be the same in many different cancers,” said the lead author. Peter Elwood, professor at the university. .
“Overall, we found that at any time after a cancer diagnosis, almost 20 percent more of patients who took aspirin were alive, compared to patients not taking aspirin,” he added. A small number of patients had experienced bleeding, but there was no evidence of excessive death from bleeding in patients on aspirin, according to the review.
“Our research suggests that not only does aspirin help reduce the risk of death, but it has also been shown to reduce the spread of cancer in the body – this is called metastatic spread,” added Elwood.
The team said that there is now a considerable body of evidence suggesting a significant reduction in mortality in cancer patients who take aspirin – and that this benefit does not appear to be limited to one or a few cancers.
“Aspirin therefore appears to deserve serious consideration as an adjuvant treatment for cancer and cancer patients and their carriers should be made aware of the available evidence,” Elwood added.
“However, we must also stress that aspirin is not a possible alternative to any other treatment,” he noted. IANS
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