Regular aspirin may lower colon cancer risk in men

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who routinely take aspirin seem to be less likely to develop colorectal cancer, according to new research findings. However, the benefit requires the dose of aspirin to be higher than usually recommended for heart health, and to be taken over at least 6 years.

"Long-term data on the risk of colorectal cancer according to dose, duration, and consistency of aspirin therapy are limited," Dr. Andrew T. Chan, of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues write in the medical journal Gastroenterology.

The research team collected data on aspirin use and cancer risk factors every 2 years among more than 47,000 men between 40 and 87 years old at enrollment in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study in 1986. .

During 18 years of follow-up, 975 cases of colorectal cancer were documented.

After adjustment for risk factors, men who reported taking aspirin regularly (at least twice a week) had a 21 percent lower risk of developing colorectal cancer compared with men who were not regular aspirin users.

Read More...

aoljpictureUpload, aoljpictureUpload_2