Under prescription, many patients take aspirin daily to reduce the risk of heart attacks. Now, a new study, conducted by researchers at the Yale University School of Public Health in New Haven (USA), suggests that the longer a person takes aspirin -in low doses-, the lower their risk of developing cancer of the pancreas.
For the study, the researchers recruited patients from 30 general hospitals in Connecticut (USA) between 2005 and 2009 , with a total of 362 pancreatic cancer patients and 690 controls (57% men and 43% women). The scientists interviewed the patients to find out when they had started taking aspirin, how many years they had been taking it, what kind of doses they were taking, and when they stopped taking it. In addition, other factors such as body mass index (BMI), history of diabetes and also smoking were taken into account.
Men and women who took low-dose aspirin (75 to 325 mg of aspirin a day) regularly had a 48% lower risk of developing pancreatic cancer . In fact, the researchers concluded that the earlier a person started taking it, the more the risk of pancreatic cancer was reduced. However, stopping the use of aspirin was associated with a three-fold increase in the risk of pancreatic cancer compared with continued use of it.
“The use of ‘Aspirin’ has its own potential risks, therefore the risks and benefits of each person should be evaluated based on personal characteristics and considerations . For the small subgroup of people with a strong family history of pancreatic cancer or otherwise diagnosed as having a substantially increased risk of pancreatic cancer, ‘Aspirin’ use could be part of a regimen designed to reduce your risk, ”says Harvey A. Risch, study leader.
The study has been published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention .
