Daily Dose of Aspirin Cuts Cancer Risk by 25 Percent

A large new study from Oxford University finds that a small daily dose of aspirin can cut the risk of cancer by 25 percent.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on December 08 2010

You may have heard people say that it’s a good idea to take a baby aspirin every day. But if you weren’t sure whether to trust them, now they have science on their side.

A large new study from Oxford University analyzed 25,000 subjects. Half of them were given a daily dose of 75 mg of aspirin each day, while the others weren’t. The treatment continued for between four and eight years, and the researchers continued to track the subjects’ health over a 20-year period.

The results were astounding: The patients who had taken a daily dose of aspirin were 25% less likely to die of cancer during the follow-up period, and were 10% less likely to die of any cause compared to the patients who hadn’t taken the pill. The lead researcher, Professor Peter Rothwell, believes that the risk reduction could be even more drastic if patients continued the aspirin treatment over a longer time period.

Though it’s sold over-the-counter, aspirin is not completely without risks: It has the potential to double a patient’s risk of internal bleeding, which can become a major concern after age 75. Professor Rothwell believes that the aspirin regime is most appropriate to start around age 45, and should be continued for 25 years. He recommends taking the pill every night, washed down with a glass of milk to reduce stomach irritation.

Headed to the drugstore now to stock up? Not quite so fast: Although aspirin can be an ideal daily supplement for many people, be sure to talk to your doctor first to make sure that it will work well for you and that there aren’t any risks of complications. But as the dramatic new study shows, if aspirin is a good fit for you, it could make a world of difference to your long-term health.

Filed under: Health and Wellbeing, Science,

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