Aspirin and Cancer Prevention

Research results published in many respected cancer journals show that, among its many benefits, aspirin also helps prevent certain cancers, particularly colon cancer. However, the cancer types in which it is effective and the ideal doses and durations of use remain subjects of research.

Chemist Dr. Felix Hoffmann, succeeded in producing pure acetylsalicylic acid by synthesizing salicylic acid with acetic acid on 10 August 1897. Acetylsalicylic acid, obtained from willow bark and commercially known as aspirin, has become an indispensable drug found in every home because of its practical benefits and low risk of side effects.

What is aspirin used for?

Aspirin is frequently used for its fever-reducing, pain-relieving, and anti-inflammatory effects. Through its blood-thinning effect, long-term low-dose aspirin use in arrhythmias, heart failure, diabetes, and blocked vessels also prevents or reduces the effects of associated heart attacks, strokes, and vascular problems.

Aspirin works by suppressing enzymes called cyclooxygenases (COX). COX1 enzymes synthesize thromboxane A2, involved in blood clotting; COX2 enzymes synthesize prostaglandins, involved in the perception of fever, pain, and inflammation. Aspirin therefore thins the blood by suppressing COX1 and inhibits the perception of pain, fever, and inflammation by suppressing COX2. In other words, aspirin does not treat the cause of pain or fever; it only reduces their perception. The underlying cause must be identified and treated.

Cancer and Aspirin

Long prominent for its effects in heart disease, aspirin has increasingly attracted attention in recent years for its effects in cancer prevention. The first development concerned colon cancer, with studies suggesting that long-term low-dose aspirin could reduce colon cancer risk. The most comprehensive study was published in 2013 and involved women older than 45, with approximately 40.000 participants. It found that long-term low-dose aspirin taken every other day by healthy women could reduce colon cancer risk by %20. However, widespread aspirin use in healthy middle-aged women was noted to carry a risk of stomach bleeding and not reduce overall cancer risk. Recommendations in America on this subject are for women aged 55 - 79 to use aspirin when necessary for its potential benefits.

Some studies have found that aspirin also offers a small benefit in stomach, esophageal, breast, prostate, and lung cancers. A study evaluating its effect on pancreatic cancer showed that high-dose aspirin use was associated with reduced pancreatic cancer risk.

Although research into aspirin's mechanism in cancer prevention continues, it has not yet been clearly established. COX enzymes and certain mechanisms independent of COX enzymes are being considered. Studies have shown that aspirin blocks the release of a molecule called sphingosine-1-phosphate. This molecule causes tumor growth, formation of new tumor-feeding vessels (angiogenesis), and inflammatory events. Blocking its release is therefore a highly plausible mechanism for aspirin's cancer-preventive effect. Other mediator molecules affected by aspirin are also being considered.

In conclusion; aspirin, a drug found in every home for many years, helps prevent certain cancers, particularly colon cancer, among its many benefits. Which cancers it affects and the ideal dose and duration remain under investigation. However, one thing is currently clear: aspirin helps prevent certain cancers, and if we use it for this purpose, we must do so with our doctor's knowledge and supervision.