PARIS: Long-term, daily doses of aspirin led to a fall of some 60 percent in cases of colorectal cancer among people with an inherited risk of this disease, the journal The Lancet reported on Friday.
The trial — considered to be broad in sample and long in duration — confirms evidence elsewhere that aspirin has a protective effect against cancer of the colon and rectum, it added.
The study enrolled patients with Lynch Syndrome, a fault in genes charged with cellular repair that leads to colorectal and other cancers.
Lynch Syndrome occurs in around one in 1,000 people and accounts for about one in 30 cases of bowel cancer, The Lancet said.
A total of 861 patients were randomly designated to take either two aspirins daily, for a dose of 600 milligrams, or a harmless dummy pill, known as a placebo, for at least two years. They were then regularly given colon exams.
AFP
