Low dose aspirin and colon cancer

[Guest guest]

THE QUESTION Might taking aspirin help suppress the development of

intestinal polyps that could lead to cancer?

THIS STUDY combined and analyzed data from four studies involving 2,698

people (average age, 58) who had been randomly assigned to take either

varying low-level doses of aspirin (81 to 325 milligrams) daily or to take

aspirin or a placebo daily. Everyone had had at least one polyp detected in

the past, about a fourth had had colon cancer and about a third knew of

colon cancer in a close relative. In about a three-year span, polyps were

found in 931 people. Those who took aspirin at any of the prescribed dosages

were 17 percent less likely to have developed polyps than were people who

did not take aspirin. Aspirin-takers had a 28 percent lower risk for

advanced lesions. Essentially no differences in complications were found

between the groups.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED? People who've had colon cancer or polyps, growths

inside the colon that are considered precursors to cancer. Nearly 110,000

people in the United States are expected to receive a diagnosis of colon

cancer this year.

CAVEATS People who bleed easily and those who have asthma, ulcers or heart

failure should talk with their doctor before taking daily aspirin. The study

was funded by Bayer, which makes aspirin, and one of the eight authors

received fees from the company.

FIND THIS STUDY Feb. 18 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer

Institute.

LEARN MORE ABOUT colon polyps at http://www.asge.org (click " Patient

Information " ) and http://www.digestive.niddk.nih.gov.