Long-term use of baby aspirin before a colorectal cancer diagnosis may reduce the risk of death, according to researchers from Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai.
Lead study author Jane Figueiredo, PhD, and her team looked at data from more than 2,500 people enrolled in the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study-II nutrition cohort, according to a March 29 news release. Everyone shared their aspirin and non-aspirin NSAID use and were eventually diagnosed with CRC.
The study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found participants who started regular aspirin after a CRC diagnosis also had better outcomes than those who didn't use aspirin, but there wasn't enough benefit to be significant. Clinical trials are ongoing to explore aspirin use and CRC mortality.
"These findings may provide an inexpensive lifestyle option to people seeking to prevent colorectal cancer, or to improve their prognoses if they are diagnosed," Dr. Figueiredo said.