Aspirin seems to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by blocking an enzyme that causes inflammation, researchers have found.
The COX-2 enzyme plays a role in causing arthritis pain and swelling, and ASA blocks the function of the enzyme.
Dr.
Andrew Chan of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and his team knew COX-2 is found in the majority of colorectal tumours but not normal tissues.
Chan and his colleagues hypothesized that if Aspirin helps colorectal cancer by blocking COX-2 then the drug should work on tumours relying on the enzyme.
As suspected, Aspirin did lower the risk of developing colorectal cancer in people with tumours showing above normal amounts of the COX-2 enzyme, the team reports in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The researchers found the link by analyzing medical records and pathology reports from people diagnosed with colorectal cancer in two ongoing studies, the Nurses Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study.
As in previous studies, among the more than 120,000 participants, those who took at least two standard tablets of Aspirin a week showed about three-quarters the risk of colorectal cancer as people who did not take the drug.
The age-standardized incidence rate for COX-2 cancers was 37 per 100,000 person-years among regular Aspirin users, compared with 56 per 100,000 person-years among those who did not use Aspirin regularly.
The reduced risk was only found in tumours positive for COX-2, while the the rate for cancers in COX-2 negative tumours was about the same between the two groups.
The study's authors are not recommending that people in general take Aspirin to lower their chance of developing colorectal cancer. For most people, screening is the best prevention, since polyps can be treated before they become cancerous.
People who have had colorectal cancer and are trying to prevent a recurrence should talk to their doctor about the advisability of taking Aspirin, said the study's senior author, Dr. Charles Fuchs of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.
Testing whether Aspirin reduces recurrence among people who have had colorectal cancer or polyps that are positive for COX-2 is the next step, Fuchs said.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in Canada, with about 20,000 new cases diagnosed last year, and an estimated 8,500 deaths annually across the country.
Iran continues to enrich uranium and is expanding its program in defiance of a UN Security Council deadline, the UN's nuclear watchdog says in a confidential report. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and rival Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh met Wednesday for the first time since factional fighting engulfed the Gaza Strip two weeks ago, but failed to reach an agreement on halting rocket attacks on Israel. Thousands of Palestinians streamed out of a refugee camp in Lebanon overnight Tuesday and early Wednesday during a break in fighting between government troops and Islamic militants. A 15-year-old boy has died after being shot at a school in Toronto's north end on Wednesday, police said. A police recording of a call made by an RCMP officer after he fatally shot a young man he had arrested was played at a coroner's inquest in northern B.C.
The brother of a Vancouver woman who disappeared while backpacking in Syria has returned to Toronto empty-handed after searching for her. Aspirin seems to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by blocking an enzyme that causes inflammation, researchers have found. Using antibiotics for two to four weeks is enough to treat Lyme disease and there is no compelling evidence that longer treatments help, U.S. neurologists said Wednesday in releasing new guidelines. Giving pure oxygen to people struggling to breathe might harm the brain, while adding carbon dioxide could help, researchers say. Deal or No Deal's Howie Mandel, The Late Late Show's Craig Ferguson and U.S. comedian George Lopez will each headline a gala show at Toronto's first Just for Laughs festival.
Robert Ash, the children's show host known by generations of Canadian children as Uncle Bobby, has died, according to his former employer. Canadian bands Billy Talent and Nickelback lead the field of nominees for this year's rollicking MuchMusic Video Awards. A fossil thought to show feathers on a dinosaur in fact shows the remains of connective tissue, say scientists who have rebutted an earlier study. Americans are getting more junk e-mail than ever before, but seem less bothered by it, according to a study published Wednesday. Scientists have found some fungi can turn radiation into an energy source for spurring growth, a discovery that could prove useful in cleaning up radioactive sites. The U.S. private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management is part of a second consortium that is in talks to acquire BCE, the communications giant said Wednesday.
The Bank of Montreal said Wednesday that it had eked out a second-quarter profit increase, despite losses on natural gas trading. Workers at the Voisey's Bay nickel mine in northern Labrador walked off the job Wednesday, forcing the mine to shut down. As the Canadian dollar continues to surge, Canadians are checking into five-star hotels and opting for luxury vacation packages, some U.S. tour operators say.
EU lawmakers backed legislation Wednesday that will allow people to chat on cellphones without having to worry about costly roaming fees, even when calling Paris from Prague. The launch of Sunday shopping on P.E.I. last weekend opened Charlottetown's racino for gambling, but bar owners are annoyed they still can't run their VLTs on Sundays.
The Toronto Blue Jays will try to continue their recent mastery of the Orioles as the teams resume their three-game set Wednesday night in Baltimore. Filippo Inzaghi scored two goals Wednesday to help AC Milan win the European Cup title for the seventh time after a 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the Champions League final in Athens. The Edmonton Oilers will have an extra first-round draft choice at their disposal next year thanks to a condition inserted in last summer's trade that sent Chris Pronger to the Anaheim Ducks.
News RSS