Aspirin taken daily for two years still lowers cancer risk 10 years later

Image credit – Newcastle University

CANCER DIGEST – June 12, 2020 – Two aspirin a day for two years reduced the risk of inherited bowel cancer 10 years after stopping the aspirin treatment, an analysis of research data has revealed.

The findings come from results of the international trial called CaPP2, which involved 861 patients with Lynch syndrome from around the world. Lynch syndrome, also known as hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), is the most common cause of hereditary colorectal (colon) cancer. The study appears in the June 12, 2020 The Lancet.

The study, led by Professor sir John Burn of Newcastle University in the UK, is a planned double blind 10 year follow-up, in which 427 participants with Lynch syndrome were randomly assigned to receive two aspirin a day for two years. They were compared to 434 participants who had been given placebo for the same period of time.

After following the participants for 10 years, there were 18 fewer colon cancers in the aspirin group compared to the non-aspirin group representing a lower cancer risk of 42.6%.

When all 163 Lynch syndrome cancers are included in the analysis – such as cancer of the endometrium or womb – there was an overall reduced risk of cancer of 24% in those taking aspirin, or 37% in those who took aspirin for the full two years.

Based on the preliminary five year data from the CAPP2 trial, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended that aspirin should be offered for the prevention of bowel cancer in adults with Lynch syndrome.

These new findings further strengthens the NICE recommendation on taking daily aspirin for those at high risk and supports wider use of aspirin to prevent cancer.

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Sources: Newcastle University press release and The Lancet