August 8, 2024 – Taking aspirin regularly could help lower the risk of colorectal cancer among individuals with unhealthy lifestyles, according to a study by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and collaborating institutions.
The study, published in the journal JAMA Oncology, was led by Andrew Chan, professor in the Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases. It was featured in an August 1 Boston Globe article.
The researchers analyzed 30 years of data that had been collected from over 100,000 participants as part of the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. In individuals with lifestyle factors known to be associated with colorectal cancer risk—such as regular use of tobacco and alcohol and lack of a healthy diet and exercise—those who took aspirin regularly had a one-third lower risk of colorectal cancer.
“This paper illustrates that we can go beyond one-size-fits-all strategies for cancer prevention,” Chan told the Globe. “We know that there are very specific lifestyle factors that put people at risk for colorectal cancer. And I think this provides some proof of principle that there is an option for us to help reverse some of those lifestyle risk factors. And that’s through an inexpensive and easy to use and well-established drug like aspirin.”
Other Harvard Chan School co-authors of the study were Kai Wang, Shuji Ogino, Edward Giovannucci, Mingyang Song, and Long Nguyen.
Read the Boston Globe article: Aspirin can slash colon cancer rates in high-risk patients, Harvard researchers report
Read a Mass General Brigham release about the study: Study Finds Regular Aspirin Use Associated with Greatest Reduction in Colorectal Cancer Among Those Most at Risk
– Jay Lau
Photo: iStock/Sina Salehian