Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Author: Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor

Aspirin is recommended for the prevention of heart attacks in people at high risk and some studies have suggested it may reduce the risk of colon cancer. New research based on 17 studies of a total of more than 300,000 people aged between 50 and 71, found taking the drug weekly or daily reduces the likelihood of some forms of stomach cancer.

In the UK there are around 8,000 people diagnosed with stomach cancer each year and most occur in people aged over 50. Rates of the cancer have halved in the UK since the 1970s but it remains extremely lethal with only 15 per cent of people surviving for five years after diagnosis. Stomach cancer is mostly associated with a bacterial infection in the lining called Helicobacter pylori.

The study, published in the British Journal of Cancer also found a 36 per cent reduction in the cancer found in the middle or lower part of the stomach in people who had used aspirin at least once in the past year. People who used other drugs in the same class, called non-steriodial anti-inflammatory drugs, had a 32 per cent reduced risk of the cancer if they had taken them at least once in the past year.

In contrast to results of previous studies, the researchers found that aspirin does not protect against oesophageal or throat cancer and cardia gastric cancer, which is cancer of the top of the stomach.

The study authors acknowledge there were several limitations to the research including that they could not determine whether subjects had Helicobacter pylori in their stomachs and whether this made them more likely or less likely to use aspirin so this could have affected the results. But because of the poor survival rates for stomach cancer large randomised trials should be carried out to discover if aspirin and similar drugs are protective, they said.

Study author Dr Christian Abnet, based at the National Cancer Institute in America, said: “We found that the risk of non-cardia stomach cancer was lower in people who had taken aspirin, and this risk lowered the more regularly they took it. Interestingly, our results didn’t show a significant cut in the risk of oesophageal or cardia stomach cancer, so it’s important that we continue to review data that suggests otherwise.

“The number of people who survive at least five years following a diagnosis of stomach or oesophageal cancer is low, so it’s important to increase our understanding of ways to prevent the disease and to investigate aspirin as a possible preventive drug.”

Aspirin is known to increase the risk of gastric bleeding and this can lead to those prescribed it for heart disease being taken off it.

Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, said: “It’s far too early to recommend that people take aspirin to protect themselves from these cancers. In cancers where survival is low, understanding how to prevent the disease is crucial, but more research is needed to discover how side effects can be balanced with the benefits. Cancer Research UK would urge people to speak to their doctor before taking aspirin regularly.”