Does Aspirin Really Help Lower Risk for Colon Cancer?

A recent study suggests that low-dose aspirin may help fight against colon cancer.

Researchers looked at more than 127,000 people in the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up study in the United States to discover the potential benefits of the drug that can be used by the mutation of a gene called BRAF.

The study believes that specifically, regular aspirin consumption lowered the risk of colorectal cancers characterized by typical forms of the gene. However, colon cancers with mutated forms of BRAF were unaffected.

Lead researchers Reiko Nishihara of the Cancer Institute in Boston also noted that taking a higher number of aspirin tables per week, or as many as 14 tablets, was associated with a lower risk for cancer typical for the colon cancer gene, but again, not for the mutated types of the same gene, according to background information regarding the study.

"This suggests that the potential protective effect of aspirin may differ by BRAF status in the early phase of tumor evolution before clinical detection but not during later phases of tumor progression," the study authors wrote.

However, it's interesting that patients who are experiencing bowel discomfort or who currently have Crohn's disease or Ulcerative Colitis, are advised against taking forms of Aspirin, as it can cause stomach bleeding or potentially, ulcers.

What do you think? 

The findings for the study can be found in June issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.