Daily aspirin can help 'prevent cancers'

A new study claims that a daily dose of aspirin can help people ward off some types of cancer.

13:08 06 August 2014

Researchers from the Centre for Cancer Prevention at Queen Mary University of London suggest that a daily dose of aspirin can help prevent certain types of cancer and could reduce the number of deaths by 130,357 deaths over two decades if everyone in the UK aged between 50 and 64 will take the drug daily for the next 10 years.

They explained that taking the drug cut the chances of dying from gastrointestinal illnesses such as bowel and stomach cancer. 

 

However, the study admitted that the widespread of aspirin can cause 18,000 deaths due to internal bleeding and strokes. 

 

Lead researcher Professor Jack Cuzick said: "Until our study, where we analysed all the available evidence, it was unclear whether the pros of taking aspirin outweighed the cons.

 

"Whilst there are some serious side effects that can't be ignored, taking aspirin daily looks to be the most important thing we can do to reduce cancer after stopping smoking and reducing obesity, and will probably be much easier to implement."

 

Dr Julie Sharp, head of health information for Cancer Research UK, which co-funded the study, also sounded a note of caution.

 

She said: "Aspirin is showing promise in preventing certain types of cancer, but it's vital that we balance this with the complications it can cause."