Aspirin may reduce bowel cancer risk for obese people

Two examples of colorectal tumors
– via Wikipedia

CANCER DIGEST – Aug. 17, 2015 – A regular dose of aspirin reduces the long-term risk of cancer in those who are overweight with a family history of the disease, an international study has found.

The large clinical trial is part of an ongoing CAPP 2 study that is being conducted by scientists and clinicians from over 43 centers in 16 countries, and has been following nearly 1,000 patients with Lynch Syndrome, an inherited genetic disorder which affects genes responsible for detecting and repairing DNA damage. 

The 10-year study involves 937 people who began either taking two aspirins (600 mg) every day for two years or a placebo. When they were followed up ten years later, 55 had developed bowel cancers and those who were obese were 2.75 times more likely to develop this cancer. Obese patients who were taking two aspirins a day, however, had the same risk as those who were not obese.

"Our study suggests that the daily aspirin dose of 600 mg per day removed the majority of the increased risk associated with higher BMI,” Professor Tim Bishop from the University of Leeds who led the statistical analysis said in a press release. “However, this needs to be shown in a further study to confirm the extent of the protective power of the aspirin with respect to BMI.”

The study, conducted by researchers at Newcastle University and the University of Leeds, UK, is published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

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