Men and women with a range of cancers who took the anti-inflammatory pain killer experienced a “significant” survival benefit compared with those who did not. ASPIRIN can double the life expectancy of patients with some of the most common cancers, a major study has found.
Researchers analysed data from nearly 14,000 patients in the Netherlands, around half of whom were in the habit of taking aspirin.
Over a four year follow-up period, those using the drug after diagnosis were twice as likely to be alive.
Overall, across all types of cancers studied, 28 per cent of patients survived at least five years. Those who were using aspirin were twice as likely to be alive.
Trial co-ordinator Dr Martine Frouws, from Leiden University in the Netherlands – who presented the findings at the 2015 European Cancer Congress in Vienna, said:
“Now we would like to analyse tumour material from these patients to try and discover which ones would benefit from aspirin treatment.“Through studying the characteristics of tumours in patients where aspirin was beneficial, we should be able to identify patients who could profit from such treatment in the future.“Given that aspirin is a cheap, off-patent drug with relatively few side-effects, this will have a great impact on healthcare systems as well as patients.”
ADAPTED FROM THE GUARDIAN.
