Aspirin Does A Body Good Part 3

Sorry but this post is going to be short & sweet w/o any graphics since my USB modem for my desktop went down and working off a laptop isn't easy for someone like me who likes to use several windows & screens.  I know, poor me, excuses, excuses!

What I wanted to do was point out a follow up to several studies published earlier this year demonstrating a link between aspirin and lower cancer incidence/mortality.  More specifically, a cohort analysis was published early online last week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institutes  in which the authors concluded that aspirin use was linked to lower cancer mortality.

To arrive at their conclusion, the authors followed the 184,190 participants of the Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II) Nutrition Cohort every 2 years with regards to aspirin use, both dose & frequency, as well as to newly diagnosed cancers.

While the risk reduction is small, it's present.  However, when we consider prevention, especially primary, we also have to balance (hoped for) benefit against risk of side effects.  Most important of all, let's not forget that CPS-II was an observational study such that the conclusion is only good for developing hypotheses but does not actually prove causation.

Regardless, we can start considering the association between aspirin and cancer mortality even as we push for aspirin for secondary prevention of heart disease as long as we're cognizant of the risks involved.

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