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Johns Hopkins Health Alert

Research on Aspirin and Colorectal Cancer

Randomized trials show that regular aspirin use reduces the risk of polyps in people at high risk for colorectal cancer. Now an observational study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Volume 302, page 649) finds that people with colorectal cancer live longer if they take aspirin on a regular basis.

Researchers looked at aspirin use in 1,279 men and women with stage I, II, or III colorectal cancer who were enrolled in two large studies. They found that after nearly 12 years of follow-up, regular aspirin users had a 29% lower risk of dying of colorectal cancer than nonusers. The 10-year survival rate was 74% for the individuals who used aspirin after their diagnosis and 69% for those who did not.

The researchers have several reasons to believe that aspirin was responsible for the improved survival. For example, when the researchers examined tumors from 459 participants, they found that only tumors with high levels of COX-2 benefited from aspirin use. Aspirin is known to inhibit COX-2, which promotes inflammation and cell growth and is found at high levels in most colorectal cancers.

Bottom line: Aspirin has a number of side effects and shouldn't be used by everyone. But if you have been diagnosed with non-metastatic colorectal cancer, talk to your doctor about the possibility of regular aspirin use.

Posted in Colon Cancer on July 21, 2010

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Health Alerts registered users may post comments and share experiences here at their own discretion. We regret that questions on individual health concerns to the Johns Hopkins editors cannot be answered in this space.

The views expressed here do not constitute medical advice, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins Medicine or MediZine LLC, which has no responsibility for any comments posted on this site.


I am left wondering if the testing was done with the baby aspirin or the 325mg regular dosing, as there are already many people taking baby aspirin for heart issues. I believe this information should have been published along with the findings.

Posted by: henlopen | July 24, 2010

What about metastasized colon cancer, why does it stop having an affect at stage III?

Posted by: Robmxa | July 31, 2010



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